Kingdom Shinigami: The Grand Line
by ElementalL'Cie
Summary: Trapped in a form he didn't want, separated from friends, Hitsugaya Toshiro finds himself on a world of powerful fruits and vast oceans. While Sora and his companions search desperately for his location, Toshiro must survive and grow on this bizarre world of pirates. He find a faint hope in a cure for his condition with the Captain of the Heart Pirates, but when is it ever so easy.
1. I Ran Away

**EDIT: Since so many people are leaving comments complaining let me just put something up here to read FIRST.  
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 **THIS. IS. A. SEQUEL.**

 **If you're here for a Bleach and One Piece crossover only, you're going to be disappointed. This is the second story following up my Bleach and Kingdom Hearts story, so if you haven't read that or don't like Kingdom Hearts, just stop now and stop putting comments about how you don't understand or that it's a stupid story. You're not helping, you're not critiquing, so I don't need to hear about how you dislike this kind of story because that means you aren't the target audience and I won't be changing it for you. It's not my problem if you don't want to read it, so don't fill up my comments about how it's "not what you like to read". That's like reading a romance novel and telling the author you don't like romance novels so it was therefore bad.**

 **More disclaimers in bold at the bottom, I recommend reading those first if you haven't already, otherwise I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Toshiro's next journey.**

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The worlds were finally safe again. In a final battle, the sinister Nobody of Darkness had been defeated and killed, and the heroes who killed him now found themselves at the End of the World, a dark place, stranded on a dark shore.

Sora and Riku sat near the edge of the shore, talking, but their third member remained further back. Toshiro had been feeling odd since his transformation into a Nobody, but at the moment had no time to worry about it. Now, with the threat dealt with, the gnawing became more obvious than ever, a heavy weight, but at the same time empty and, if he was honest, rather terrifying. He'd never felt so…alone before. Since stepping into the nothing of the between worlds, Hyorinmaru had been absent, and it made the fact that they were no longer partners all the more real.

A panic was beginning to set in, an unsettling tightness in his chest that made it hard to breathe for a moment. He put a hand to his chest, feeling sweat bead on his skin and a fierce rush of adrenaline rushing through his veins. How could this happen to him? How could he have made such a mistake, costing him his partner, his friend? It only made real his fears, his doubts, the reality that he just wasn't strong enough. Worthless, weak, he couldn't even save himself from darkness, how could he call himself a Heavenly Guardian meant to save others?

"Toshiro?" Sora had looked back to speak to the white-haired being, only to see the small figure bent over and panting heavily, a fearful panic in his eyes.

"What's the matter?" Riku asked, noticing this as well.

The child didn't answer at first, still trapped in his own mind, a mind empty of the usual cold relief his dragon offered when he was upset. There was just nothing, a strong emptiness that swallowed him the moment he realized its presence. It was a wonder he held it back all this time, because now it seemed to be everywhere, consuming him, and it would have scared him to death if he wasn't already dead with a severe limit to his emotions. Currently he was stuck on panic, so the voices calling out to him with worry made him flinch away.

"The darkness must be getting to him." Riku said as Sora stood, the silver-haired boy unable to after the hit he took from Xemnas. He could recognize the fear in Toshiro's eyes, the sense that your very being was being stolen right from your body, a horrible echoing chill calling for you to give in.

"But he was fine earlier!" Sora sounded a little panicked himself as he heard his friend whimper, saw him back further away from them.

"There was too much going on already, but now there's nothing to do BUT think about it, and once you focus on it, the darkness grabs on tight."

Sora moved forward worriedly to Toshiro.

"Careful." Riku warned, understanding that Toshiro would be a little unstable right now, not himself. Those first moments of finding the darkness within you were downright terrifying.

Indeed, the white-haired being was not comprehending reality around him. Too much of it was swallowed by darkness, an eerie whisper calling out to him, threatening him.

' _Alone…Afraid…Weak…Helpless…Fallen…Nothing…_ ' He shook his head against the thoughts, but they simply continued to bombard his thoughts, reminding him of his failures.

' _I tried my hardest…_ ' He thought, but the whispers still hissed at him, telling him it wasn't good enough.

' _Give up your heart…power doesn't need it…_ ' The hollow in his soul beckoned.

' _I've already lost it…_ '

' _But you cling to the remains…emotion clouds judgement…feelings are an obstacle…_ '

' _They're a guide!_ ' He wasn't sure why he continued to argue with the darkness, with himself, but he was afraid if he didn't, if he gave in even for a moment, the little bit of himself he clung to would be washed away. He didn't want that, didn't want to lose himself, but the nothingness was vast and intimidating…it clouded his rational mind. He gripped tighter to the fabric over his heart, backing further into the dark woods of the island they lay trapped on, away from the blurry figure in front of him obscured by tears of panic and shame.

He turned away from the hand offered to him, paranoid the darkness attacking him would consume the other, drag someone else into his problem that didn't need to be. Toshiro didn't want to stay there, didn't want to hurt anyone. He had to keep away until he could figure himself out, deal with this onslaught where no one else could be harmed. It wouldn't be the first time he'd unintentionally hurt someone, but this time he at least hoped to avoid that situation all together.

Darkness opened up before him, but it was a darkness he wanted, a portal. He ignored the worried shouts and ran in, closing it behind him. Once inside the pitch blackness of the dark realms, his run slowed, but he never stopped moving, worried what would happen if he lingered too long in this realm. He could hear his footsteps echo, hear his heavy breathing, but a pounding heart rate was absent, almost mocking him further. No heart, no soul, no purpose…just as Xemnas said, a being doomed to nothingness, doomed to barely exist, to be alone.

He created an end portal, not even caring where it led him, only that it got him out of that cursed blackness. Where he ended up was still dark, but it was a pleasant darkness, broken by the light of the moon and stars, the air a bit warm but not too unbearable for the Ice Nobody.

Teal eyes glanced around at his surroundings while he tried to control his breathing again, control his panic. The whispers were still very present, but they were lessening in their intensity. The gnawing was fading a bit to something he could handle. Whatever fear had consumed him, it was beginning to calm, allowing him to think. Now he was realizing what a fool he just was. He'd run from Sora, someone who could help him, perhaps Riku as well since the boy had experience in darkness. Was that what the emptiness wanted? Force him into complete isolation? And he listened. He cursed himself.

The woods around him were thick, a jungle. That explained the warm weather. He spread out his senses. Many animals, big and small, but no people. At least, not close enough to him to be harmed. He moved further away, just in case, holding his arms to him protectively as if the hold would contain his own unstable thoughts, as he couldn't call them feelings anymore. The air was beginning to chill and he grimaced, moving faster, knowing what that meant. A Soul Reaper having a breakdown always let out their power unwillingly, and those like him with elemental types had a greater effect than just the typical weight of Spiritual Pressure. He would freeze the area, so he needed to get somewhere away from people, far away. It was getting harder to keep it in, as it was already too late to try and stop it, even with his thoughts mostly back in order.

Finally, his legs gave out, the pressure of containing his already wild powers too much of a strain. With a cry he fell to the ground, and at the same time a great wave of Spirit Energy escaped his body in streams of white, encasing the flora around him in sheets of black ice. He glanced at the ice, confused by its color for a moment. It used to be blue, such a pristine blue, like the sky had frozen onto the ground, white coloring its edges in a glow. But now the blue had gone black, the white edges dulled to gray. It was so sinister looking, so empty and harsh. It made HIM feel threatened, and it was HIS power.

He looked down at himself, at his hands held out before him, and wondered why he let this happen. He'd been so proud as a Captain, the child prodigy, the strongest master of an ice-type zanpaktou. And now it was gone…what could the Soul Society do with a broken soul? A Soul Reaper missing his heart, his zanpaktou? They wouldn't let him back…not while he was this unstable.

Biting his lip, Toshiro held his arms to his torso again, almost looking like he was shivering with cold if he wasn't immune to it, the shaking from his sadness instead, his anger at himself. How pathetic he was, how useless. He should never have been chosen as the Heavenly Guardian, never been trusted with the power of Kingdom Hearts or a Keyblade. What did the worlds want of him? What could he offer anymore? He would have ended his existence like he was supposed to, refuse to let the darkness take him to save the others, but…he couldn't, because all he could see were the faces of his friends the last time he had tried. He could see the hurt in their eyes at the thought of him trying to leave, to die, their anger that he would even try. He could hear their voices telling him, promising him, they would find a way to fix this.

It was the only thing giving him any hope at all to fight the darkness.

But it could only do so much, and in the loneliness of his little island of black ice, the former proud Captain of Squad Ten cried.

A chill ran through the rest of the island. The sky, formerly only spotted with clouds, was beginning to darken. Amidst the people of the island's village, a small child looked to the sky, frowning at the odd occurrence. She wasn't much of a navigator, but she knew the sky, and this weather was unnatural for the type of island they were on. Plus, the chill was unwelcome and didn't belong…and the feeling behind it. Her perception was far better than most, even those capable of using the same ability she could, so she could tell this oddity was being caused by someone…but that someone seemed so…empty. It was almost stranger than the weather change.

"Papa." She turned to the man she was walking with, him and another two children as well as another man. "I think there's something here."

The one she called to looked at her curiously, yellow eyes focused on her with a dark brow rising in question.

"Can't you feel it?" The dark haired child asked, her heterochromia eyes, one blue and one black, peering into the forest beyond the village with apprehension.

He did indeed feel something, but despite his own keen observation he felt nothing more than an odd energy deep in the woods.

"Should we look into it, Captain?" The other man spoke, red hair hidden under his cap and eyes hidden behind sunglasses, though he was close to removing them with the ever darkening sky.

"I doubt it's our business." The Captain replied, prepared to head back to the ship.

"Papa, wait." The black-haired girl stopped him. "He feels so sad…he might be hurt."

"He?" The tall man knelt down before her, wondering what it was she was sensing, aware she had a very heightened ability to 'see' and 'listen'.

"They're small…like a child…and they're very sad…very empty." The girl frowned. "And he's behind the weather."

The man looked up at the sky, the dark clouds and unnatural cold…some kid was behind this? Well then, perhaps it was something worth looking into.

"Lead me to him, then." He told the girl before turning to the others. "Head back to the ship, we'll be back momentarily."

They nodded obediently and headed back, one of the children patting the other on the shoulder, the two of them nearly identical except their eye colors switched sides and the other was a boy. He also didn't have a scar across his face.

Split off from them, the girl led the taller man into the woods, following the source of the cold seeping through the trees, creating a mist as it clashed with the warm jungle air. The closer they got, the more concerned the girl became for whoever it was she sensed. Such emptiness, such pain, she wondered why they felt that way. It was almost like they weren't even a person anymore.

"Stop." The man snapped, pulling her back as he noticed something.

It was the black ice, harsh and threatening, slowly spreading over each leaf and twig. The animals refused to go near it, fleeing the dark cold.

"Go back to the ship." He ordered.

"But Papa-!" The girl worried for the one who created this black ice, as it must mean they were in a lot of pain.

"Go." There was no room for argument.

Frowning, the girl obeyed and headed back towards the town. This far in, the man could now sense the strange, hollow presence causing this phenomenon.

But Toshiro could sense him, too.

"They noticed me?" he muttered aloud, picking his head up and looking towards where he could sense the Spirit Energy of a human nearby. They were approaching the area covered by his dark ice…if they got too close he might freeze them.

With his panic fairly calmed now and his power back under control, he was able to stop the spread of ice and lower his influence on the weather, letting it warm back up though he would miss the comforting chill. Comforting to him, anyway, he figured the natives might not appreciate his winter preference.

He jumped up easily into one of the trees, hiding his presence and hoping whoever it was would just consider the ice an odd occurrence, some supernatural accident, and leave without finding him. He didn't want to explain why he was there, freezing over their island.

Soon the figure came into view, a tall, thin man in spotted jeans and dark blue shirt with a yellow smiley, a white hat with more spots covering his dark hair. Toshiro saw tattoos on the other man's hands and the sword those hands held. He could immediately sense a presence in the sword, a dark one, a cursed one. It wasn't like a zanpaktou, but it had somewhat of a presence all the same, and it was attached to the one currently wielding it. How curious.

The figure paused near where he was hiding, looking around with narrowed yellow eyes.

"I know you're here." He spoke up and Toshiro stiffened. Was the human capable of sensing Spirit Energy? He was sure he had his completely concealed, whatever he still had as a Nobody. He concealed it as completely as possible, noticing the man get confused. "Gone?"

' _So he CAN sense Spirit Energy._ ' Toshiro mused, observing the human closely. What kind of world did he jump to? He needed to be careful about this, but now he wanted to know…perhaps helping worlds would help him find himself again, give him a purpose again. It was all he could think of to try after he shamefully ran away from his friends.

"You shouldn't be here." He spoke up, watching the human dart his gaze up to his hiding spot. He had to be careful, he couldn't help just anyone. If he ended up helping someone of the darkness, he would only make things worse.

"I could say the same to you." The man replied. "Are you the reason a Spring Island is on the verge of becoming a Winter Island?"

Toshiro wasn't sure why different islands had different seasons, but he supposed that explained the warm weather and lush flora, as well as the sheer amounts of water surrounding this land that helped power up his little 'panic attack'.

"I apologize; I don't normally allow it to get this bad." Toshiro motioned with his head to the surrounding black ice, which was slowly breaking away, the temperature lowering. "If you allow me a moment the ice will be gone, I had to let out some…frustration."

The man didn't seem too surprised that he could control the ice, proving Toshiro's guess right that people here were stronger than most worlds, and perhaps had magic of their own. It would explain the strange Spirit Energy this one had, too.

"I understand needing to relieve stress, but I've never seen it get to a scale that changed the very weather." He stated, and the Nobody frowned, wondering how to explain his way out of this one. "What kind of Devil Fruit do you have?"

Devil Fruit? The term was utterly foreign to the former Captain, he wasn't aware of strangely named fruits that gave people powers…that might be something to look into, though. What kinds were there? Were they common to have? Were there multiple fruits of the same power or were they all unique? He had to think quickly, keep hidden his origins and true abilities.

"I don't actually know, I've had these for a long time and assumed it was a power I was born with and awakened." He spoke, hoping to play the ignorance card while giving out some bit of truth. "It's only recently I heard of Devil Fruits and realized mine must be one as well."

The other man frowned, looking at him with a calculating stare. Toshiro returned it, both sizing each other up and acknowledging the other as clever, guarded, unable to really know who would do what first or when they might turn hostile.

"What can you do with it?" The stranger questioned.

"Use water in the air to create ice and as a result I tend to form storm clouds, too." Toshiro just told the truth, hoping these Devil Fruits had a power like that.

He was met with disappointment as the other man smirked victoriously, as if discovering a secret.

"How odd, considering the weakness of all Devil Fruit users is water, yet you can control it."

' _Dammit…_ ' Toshiro mentally grumbled. "Then I guess I do have an odd power." He said aloud; after all, he never explicitly said he'd eaten a Devil Fruit, only that it was possible. He'd left himself an escape, and the other man's smirk faded as he realized this.

"If you'd allow it, perhaps I could figure out what your odd power is, help you learn more."

' _I know more about it than you ever could._ ' Toshiro thought, a little defensive at the thought of someone else poking at his powers.

But he also needed someone to get information from, see if this world needed help or if the darkness had little to no influence on it. As much as this man seemed dangerous, there were darker people holding Captain positions back in the Soul Society, and weird fruit powers or not, he was still just human. At least as a Nobody he didn't have to worry about only certain people seeing him, he was forever visible to all.

"I know a fair bit, but there's always more to learn." The white-haired being spoke up. "I would…also like to know more about this place. I came here by accident, I'm quite lost."

"Lost?" The other man looked amused. "Lost indeed if you know nothing of where you are. Alright, I suppose we could humor each other…I am Trafalgar Law."

"Hitsugaya Toshiro." The Nobody gave his name. He refused to take a name of darkness, he felt his name was all he had left of who he was.

Law motioned back the way he came from with his head, beckoning the small figure down from the tree to head out. The child's teal eyes kept a cold stare on him before he finally moved, jumping down with the grace of a cat and landing without a sound on the still slightly frozen grass. He was like a ghost, and in the black hooded cloak Law might even consider him like some kind of reaper. But he didn't believe in such things, so he set the comparison aside and led the way back out.

They both had a feeling the days to come would be interesting indeed.

* * *

 **First, some disclaimers. From the description and all that you can assume this will be a One Piece heavy part of the series. It's fairly current, but also since the current chapters are in the middle of an arc with some crazy stuff going on, you don't necessarily have to be absolutely caught up with it. Just know about Big Mom and all that I guess. So that said, I will be taking some liberties with how their adventure plays out because this will be set after Big Mom when all the crews are back together, which obviously we don't know what happens in that regard yet so don't expect accuracy.**

 **Another point to make is that I will be using an AU version of Law's crew. Sadly, while up on my profile, the AU fell prey to my writer's block and has stopped short, but I do enjoy my take on Law adopting five orphan thieves, so if you want to know at least how he got them I'd be delighted if you read those few chapters. This AU was co-written with a close friend of mine, who has also been helping me with this sequel as she is a bit better with One Piece lore than me, and also basically made the orphans herself.**

 **And finally, as to this story itself, this honestly wasn't meant to become the sequel. I just wanted to throw Toshiro into the AU world to get along with the orphans, but as my friend joined in to help and I continued writing, I feel it's honestly a good way to progress Toshiro's journey, and is why the ending of Kingdom Shinigami turned out the way it did, and in fact probably why it got written at all. So if the beginning seems a bit odd, that's probably why, though I did my best to go back and clear it up to better act as a sequel rather than a spin-off. It's also why names will now be said in the traditional way rather than the English way I had been writing them (basically instead of Toshiro Hitsugaya it's now Hitsugaya Toshiro, because I honestly didn't feel like going back and switching the names). I don't know One Piece names are weird the English way, so forgive my laziness.**

 **I'm kind of glad it ended up this way, as while I do want to get to dream drop distance, I'm hoping kh3 comes out soon so I can get more lore to hint at during that "arc" I guess we'll call it, like I attempted with Kingdom Shinigami. This bit will utilize more of the origins and backstory of the Kingdom Hearts itself I gathered from the mobile game that came out some time ago, if with some obvious differences cause AU. Hopefully I can blend it well and it will be enjoyable, even if it's all on one world.**

 **If you're wondering what i'm talking about because you haven't read the first story, please please go read it :) IT's a long one... but i'm quite proud of Kingdom Shinigami and hope to continue as the games do.**

 **I have said what I needed to say, I just want everyone to know what they're getting into, because there's no telling what life will throw at me next and this may fall to the same unfortunate hiatus its predecessor did. I am grateful to anyone who is still along for the ride with me.**

 **-ElementalLCie**


	2. This Submarine Is Hazardous

**Just so people know, cause I don't know how many saw it in the last chapter before I changed it, updates are hopefully going to be Mondays. Also they changed the document format so no more line breaks apparently, need to improvise (edit: well they have the breaks in editing but not in the actual document making, which seems really dumb). Enjoy**

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"Eh? Another kid?" A young brown-haired teen stated as he caught sight of the tiny figure with black-tipped white hair and odd teal eyes trailing behind his Captain.

Toshiro could not suppress the irritated twitch in his brow. Nobody or not, being called a kid still irritated him, especially by someone who wasn't even a full adult yet himself. None of these people here would be anywhere close to his age, but for the sake of world order he could not reveal his actual origins and so kept a leash on his hatred of being called a child. Instead, he wondered why the man, who he now realized was a pirate if the black flag meant anything, had five kids on his ship in the same uniform as the adults. Two girls and three boys. One boy looked fairly young, looking back at Toshiro oddly, while another, slightly older, had a twin among the two girls, the younger girl. The older girl stood next to the oldest boy, the one who'd spoken, and Toshiro thought he spotted hands being held.

"You're the one who made the ice." The female twin who'd first noted the boy's presence spoke up, leaning over the railing of the submarine the pair was heading towards.

"Eh? Ice? But I thought that Admiral who retired had the Ice-Ice Fruit." An older girl with black hair and green eyes frowned at the younger girl.

That would explain if there was more than one of the same type of Devil Fruit; no, there wasn't, they were all unique. He was definitely glad he didn't try to act like it WAS a Devil Fruit, then.

"This one is a little different." Law spoke to the children. "He isn't a Devil Fruit user."

"Whoa, then how'd he make the ice?" The oldest boy gaped.

"The Straw Hats had a samurai with them capable of creating fire with his sword, perhaps such powers aren't all that uncommon in the New World." Their Captain answered, and Toshiro looked at him curiously. A samurai creating fire with their sword? Were they a Soul Reaper? He'd have to look into that. Perhaps he should lean towards being like that…but he didn't have his sword summoned, and having it appear out of thin air wouldn't really help. Plus, he doubted these samurai were capable of changing the very weather or freezing over nearly a mile wide of forest. He also wondered about the name, New World. Did it mean people here moved worlds or just called a certain part of their world that as it remained unexplored? So many questions with each new answer.

"Why are you sad?" The girl asked him and Toshiro stiffened, looking at her in surprise.

"Dextra." The older girl chided.

The younger, Dextra, seemed to hiss back and the elder flinched away. There seemed to be some dysfunction within their group, and it made Toshiro feel a little awkward, since he didn't know any of them or why that would be, so he couldn't diffuse the situation. All he could do was distract.

"Why do you think I'm sad?" He asked, managing to get the younger girl's attention away from the others.

"You just feel that way…kind of empty and hurt." She responded.

Toshiro was rather surprised. The girl had a keen ability to sense Spirit Energy, if she could get that detailed, especially for a human. Getting down to sensing the very emotion in a person was a skill even some of the best assassins in Squad Two had difficulty doing. He himself could sense the odd aura around her, same as Law had, meaning she must be a Devil Fruit user as well, but her emotions were not within his ability.

"I've had…some trouble, yes." Toshiro admitted. "But there's nothing for it now."

"Since you seem interested, Dextra, you can watch over him." Law spoke up, heading onto the ship. He'd watched their interaction quietly and decided the young girl would be best to figure out the boy's secrets, since she seemed to notice what they didn't and perhaps even sympathized with him, giving them a trust base.

"We're taking him with us?" The red-headed man with the children asked.

"For now." Law replied.

"You have a bad habit of picking up stray kids, Captain."

"Hey!" The kids already a part of the crew snapped at him. Law just laughed a bit at them and headed inside, leaving the engineer to fend for himself against the five children.

Toshiro watched silently, as it wasn't his place to interrupt or join in, just getting onto the ship and standing aside. They were pirates, but they were unlike any pirates he'd heard of before. His own fellow Captains – or former fellow Captains, in his mind – were more violent and cruel than this crew from what he could see so far. It was almost pleasant, though there was definitely a lingering threat should he overstep his welcome. Their Captain was intelligent, very intelligent, one slip up and everything could be revealed.

"So what's your name?" The youngest boy, Daniel as he'd been introduced when Dextra had given their names, questioned him as he and the other children led him to the galley. The oldest girl, Thursday, had fussed about how thin and tired he looked. He was indeed tired because of his expense of energy in the forest after such a huge battle not an hour earlier, but the fussing was unnecessary.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro." He answered. "I prefer to be called by my family name."

"Your name sounds hard." The small boy pouted.

"But it's my name." Toshiro gave a small shrug. Perhaps he'd be lenient and allow his given name to be used, it would be difficult to explain his customs without revealing too much, but if they dared try to give him a nickname he wouldn't be too nice.

"Hit-su-gaya…" Daniel attempted. "Right?"

"I suppose you could use my given name if you wish…"

"Cool, Toshiro is a little easier." The boy beamed. Somehow the Nobody felt like he'd just lost for something. Did Daniel do that on purpose? That little…

"Come on, Toshiro, you might as well meet the crew while they're all here for dinner." Thursday attempted to hurry them along.

"It's not like I've joined or anything." The boy huffed. "I just need to know a few things."

"Like what?" Dextra asked.

"Of any suspicious activity recently…shadow creatures or odd white beings, ones with strange symbols on their bodies…or any strange people that feel like they don't belong."

"Pal, there's lots of odd things like that on the Grand Line." Heinrich replied. "Especially in the New World."

"But anything particularly out of place, even for here?" The white-haired boy tried again.

"Haven't been here long enough to know what's normal and what's not." The oldest shrugged. "New World is a rough place to sail. We only just got away from the Wano Kingdom where those weird samurai people that Papa talked about live."

"Papa?" Toshiro didn't think either of the two adults that had been outside earlier were old enough to be dads for these kids, and none of them even looked alike, either to each other or the adults, save for the twins.

"The Captain." Dextra smiled a bit. "He took us in when we were just a bunch of street brats, even after we were trying to watch him for our abusive Boss. He fixed us up and taught us all sorts of things, he saved our lives, so we call him Papa."

"I see…" Toshiro mused, thinking back to his time in the dirty streets of the Rukongai slums. He was hated, feared, treated like a demon…but his grandmother was always there to take care of him, love him, and he couldn't imagine where he'd be without her. And Momo, too, that silly girl he cared for like a sister. He wondered what she'd do once she heard he'd run off like this…she'd get so mad at him. Great, he'd have to sit through another concerned sisterly lecture.

"You okay?" Daniel brought him out of his nostalgia, teal eyes blinking as Toshiro focused on the small boy.

"Yeah…just remembering something." He admitted. "You just…sound similar to me."

"Really?" Book looked curious.

"I didn't live in the best place either…and I wasn't very well liked. I'm a bit…odd."

"I'll say, you've got a funky hairstyle there." Heinrich teased.

"It's natural." Toshiro bristled. The older boy held his hands up in surrender. "And it wasn't just my hair…my powers scared them."

"Oh…"

"But my grandmother was there to take care of me." Toshiro continued. "And a girl about my age, like a sister. No matter what, they were there."

"That's good." Dextra offered a comforting smile.

"So how'd you get here?" Thursday asked.

"Not exactly sure, a lot has happened." And for the most part that was truth, though he omitted the details of what happened and his capability of traveling worlds. "In any case, I don't wish to be a burden for long, I can leave at the next island if desired."

"Anybody ever tell you that you sound like an old man when you talk, all formal and stuff." Heinrich said with a huff. Toshiro glared at him. "And don't worry about being a burden, Papa will put you to work as long as you're here, but he'll also take care of you."

"I don't need to be taken care of."

They stepped inside the galley, more men in black boiler suits spread out among the tables. Talking hushed as everyone turned towards the newcomer among their younger members, easy to spot as he was the only one without a hat, spiky hair messy as ever.

"Come on then, before these black holes take all the food." The cook spoke up gruffly, motioning the children over.

"What? We work hard all day, gotta recharge." One of the pirates shot back with a smirk, a few of the others laughing and nodding in agreement.

"Growing children need it more." With a friendly chuckle the cook pointed his spoon at the talker before turning to the kids. "Especially the new guy, look at you! You're practically bones!"

"Am not." Toshiro frowned. The coat made him look thinner than he was. He really wanted to get out of it, but the alternative of the boiler suits didn't look very appealing either. He wished he had his Shihakusho back, or at least something normal like he wore in the World of the Living back home. Anything but this cursed uniform of the Nobodies.

"So kid, can you fight?" A man next to the red-head he'd seen earlier spoke up while the cook got some bowls ready for Toshiro and the other five children.

"My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro." The Ice Nobody snapped, bristling. A few people frowned as they noticed the normally warm air in the sub cooled a bit, Dextra looking at the boy oddly. "And yes, I can."

"With what?" The man continued.

"Back up a bit there, Penguin, he just got here." His red-headed friend chuckled. Penguin just shrugged, Toshiro noting humorously that his hat had his own name on it.

"It's fine." The small figure answered. "I've trained with a sword."

"Huh, you should show us later." Heinrich grinned, clearly doubting the boy's ability since he was so small and rather thin.

"If you wish." Toshiro shrugged. Maybe then they would give him a bit more respect.

"But first, food." The cook cut in, handing over the bowls. "You know the rules, brats, all of it's got to go."

"Yes sir." Book answered quickly, taking his bowl. He and the others knew not to refuse the cook, as it was his job to make sure they got the nutrition they needed while out at sea. Toshiro, unsure what else to do, followed their example.

"So how'd you make the ice?" The red-head from earlier asked. Right, he was out there when it was mentioned.

"Ice?" One of the other members piped up, curious.

"Yeah, apparently he made this huge ice field, even made the weather go weird."

"No way." Penguin looked disbelieving.

"It's true." Dextra countered before turning to Toshiro. "You can still do it, right?"

Toshiro went a bit tense, never having liked being put in the spotlight, but figured word would spread anyway and if he didn't give them something they would never leave him alone. He just had to be careful about how much he showed them. So, keeping it small, he lifted up a hand and created a large snowflake, still disturbingly black in color, floating above his palm, at the same time raising his Spiritual Pressure so the air inside cooled several noticeable degrees for a small scale 'weather change'.

"Whoa, that's crazy!" Penguin said with a slight shiver. "You could be one seriously powerful kid."

"I prefer not to use it, it drains my strength." Hitsugaya said, and while that was true it took a great deal before he actually got tired.

"Why is it black?" Dextra asked. "Ice isn't black."

"That's…" Now he really felt uncomfortable. "That's kind of new. It used to be like normal ice, but recently…it's gotten darker and darker."

"Does it have to do with-?"

"I really don't want to talk about this." Toshiro cut her off, his tone icy and a slight scowl on his face. Despite the mean look, though, Dextra recognized that he was uncomfortable and so let the subject drop. With the way he interrupted, though, it was clear she was right. The empty feeling he had to his aura had to do with why his ice was black. What happened to him? She wanted to find out, whether to help him or just for curiosity sake she wasn't sure yet, but he did look rather sad.

The ship shook a bit as they submerged, startling their new comrade a bit. He'd never been in a submarine before, though he knew what they were and did, so he hadn't been prepared for the slight shake.

"You get used to it." Book assured him.

"I don't plan to stay long." Toshiro reminded. They seemed adamant he would be here for a while, and he'd really prefer to avoid that situation. The less involved he got the better, this was already pushing it, stuck in a small ship underwater with potentially dangerous people.

"It's hard to find a ship willing to take you around, you know." Thursday pointed out carefully. "Most pirates would rarely haul a kid around," she paused briefly when she saw his brow twitch in irritation, "so you should probably stick with us, since we're willing to let you stay."

"Even then, it's best I don't remain for longer than I should." The shorter figure shot back. "I'm…looking for something."

"For what?"

"I…I'm not completely sure myself, but I know I need it." That wasn't completely true, but how was he supposed to explain that he needed to become whole again? Needed to find his purpose again, needed to understand his role as the power in control of Kingdom Hearts, the Heavenly Guardian. There was so much he needed to find and understand, it could take him years.

They decided to leave it at that, seeing the lost in thought expression he had. They continued to eat in silence, the adults still sparing glances at the odd ice child. Toshiro was easily able to ignore their gazes, used to such things from his home.

When they were all done, the children decided to show him to their room, figuring he would prefer to stick with people 'his age'. Though irritated he had to stay with a bunch of kids, he might be able to figure out more since they would have looser tongues. They were still pirates, so caution was needed, but kids were only so good at hiding things. He wasn't a fan of the stuffy temperature, though, it had quickly done away with his temporary chill.

"Here, we can spread some blankets out on the floor for you." Daniel offered, doing just that with some extra sheets they had nabbed from the clean laundry. The youngest then climbed up onto the bottom of one of the two bunk beds, a hammock making up bed number five that turned out to be Heinrich's, the oldest happily lounging about in it already.

"Thanks." Toshiro nodded to the small boy. He sat down on the pile, trying to ignore the increasing temperature so as to continue talking with them. "What is this place, exactly? You called it the New World."

"You're in the most dangerous part of the Grand Line and you don't even know what it is?" Heinrich guffawed. Toshiro just frowned at him, not amused. "Alright, okay. Well, basically there are four seas, North Blue, South Blue, East Blue and West Blue. Then there's the Red Line that circles the whole world. Perpendicular to that is the Grand Line, the most dangerous sea in the world. Despite that the first half is called Paradise, because compared to the second half, the New World, its crazy weather changes and odd islands are peaceful."

"Navigating is difficult, normal compasses don't work in here." Daniel added, looking excited about the topic. "We use a Log Pose; it helps us get from island to island. You have to hang around each island for its set time before you can move on. In the New World it can be even more dangerous, since the islands can be unpredictable or not even there anymore."

"What a complicated place…" Toshiro mused. "And for what reason would people travel through it? Just to say they did?"

"Partly, but most pirates are after One Piece, the great treasure left behind by the Pirate King Gold Roger. Whoever finds it is the new Pirate king." Book explained. "Papa's after it too, but I don't think he's as interested as some other people."

"Papa's been kind of different lately." Thursday frowned in thought.

"In what way?" Toshiro questioned carefully. Difference in attitude usually meant influence from the Heartless or Nobodies.

"Oh, nothing bad, he's actually been more relaxed than before. He's just not as driven for the treasure as before, he just wants to be part of the action when it happens, that's it."

"I'm guessing you were all hoping he would become Pirate King?" The conversation was interesting, a lure like One Piece would make people easy prey for the darkness, but the heat was starting to bother him.

"He'll still fight for it, but I don't think he would mind horribly if our ally Captain got it instead." Dextra replied. She paused, noticing he looked uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"

"It's kind of hot." He said, his breath starting to come short as he felt the onset of overheating.

"Eh? Not really…" Heinrich said with a frown. It was starting to warm up, sure, but it got much hotter later the longer they stayed under. Eventually they'd go up because Bepo would complain, but it was too soon even for that. "It'll get warmer. Take off the big coat, maybe that will help."

Toshiro thought about it, before deciding he shouldn't. His scar would raise some uncomfortable questions he didn't want to answer…but damn this heat was stifling. He was cut off from water inside the metal confines, he would waste energy trying to cool the place off. Plus, his sensitivity to heat had increased after becoming a Nobody, where his element was now his being, otherwise this might be more bearable.

"It's late anyway, why don't we all go to sleep for now, we'll probably surface later when the adults get tired and it'll cool back off." Thursday added, laying out on her own bed and removing the suit so she was in a tank top and shorts.

The others agreed, stripping down to their nightwear as well. Toshiro waited until they put out the light before removing his coat, less chance for them to see the scar. Removing the black leather helped with the heat, but he knew it would just get worse again the longer they stayed submerged. Going on a submarine was a horrible idea.

He didn't sleep of course, as he didn't feel comfortable. Sleep was where he became the most unpredictable with his powers. He'd almost killed his grandmother that way, and now as a Nobody with new powers and a lingering ache of a void gnawing at his mind he worried what he might do to these children. He couldn't sleep in this heat anyways, and neither could he sleep with someone watching him. Dextra was watching him, worried for how sweaty he was, how he panted and looked tired, perhaps even showing signs of a fever. And that scar…she thought the one across her face was bad, she was surprised he had his arm with the scar he bore.

He felt dizzy now, mouth dry. He stopped sweating, his body refusing to lose more water, and he found it ridiculous he was reacting this way when he wasn't even in a desert type area. The close metal quarters seemed to just intensify the heat, and as his vision got blurry he knew he was reaching a dangerous point. He would have to give a bit more if he didn't want to have a heat stroke or possibly even overheat to a fatal extent on this damn ship.

Shakily he got to his feet, vaguely noticing Dextra stir as well at his movement. He moved towards the door with the intention of finding their crew's doctor, which if he remembered right they said was also their Captain. Toshiro was reluctant to give that clever pirate too much information, but if he didn't at this point he could be in serious trouble, and that wasn't worth keeping a secret for.

Unfortunately, he didn't even make it past the door, collapsing to the ground as a wave of dizziness hit him hard.


	3. My Terrible Darkness

The doors to the infirmary opened quickly, Law looking up with a frown to whoever burst inside. He was busy, who managed to hurt themselves this time?

He was quite surprised to see the white-haired child, unconscious and panting heavily with a heated look to his skin, being carried in Heinrich's arms with Dextra beside him.

"What happened?" He questioned.

"He's overheating." Dextra answered quickly.

"Impossible, it hasn't even gotten that hot in here." Law countered. He was aware of how the ship rose in temperature while submerged, it tended to make him uncomfortable as well, but he'd never had anyone overheat.

"He was complaining about it earlier, too." Heinrich added. He obliged when their Captain motioned for the boy to be set down on the bed. "His fever doesn't even feel all that high."

Law grabbed a thermometer and placed it in the boy's mouth just to be sure. Once it beeped he removed it and frowned. Barely high enough to be called a fever, he'd still have his men working if that's what it was at. Yet, here was this child, unconscious and breath coming short and hard as if he was burning up with something bad. However he looked at it, Toshiro was dangerously close to a heat stroke, but except for his reaction there was no indication it should be there, nor was there any reason for it.

"Dextra, get to the bathroom and fill the tub with ice water." He ordered, working off a theory. The boy wasn't a Devil Fruit user, but he had a power over ice. Could that be affecting his body?

"Are you sure, Papa?" The young girl asked, a little worried.

"He'll be fine, go." He put some ice from the little freezer in the infirmary in a small bag before placing it on Toshiro's forehead, not putting a towel around it as one would for others. The boy moved towards it almost eagerly, seeking out the cold.

That was all the evidence Dextra needed as she rushed off to do as ordered. Not sure what he could do, Heinrich just went with her to help. Now alone in the infirmary with the odd child, Law examined him a little closer. The huge scar was quickly noticed. It was deep, very deep, just barely missing the heart and any other vitals. Straight down through the left shoulder and ending just above the left hip. Curious, Law moved to that side and carefully lifted the small frame to look at his back. His eyes widened.

The scar went all the way through.

Toshiro should for all intents and purposes be missing his entire arm and part of his side. There were actually lots of scars across the tanned skin, not so bad as that one but still ones a child shouldn't possess. Plus, his body was built like that of a seasoned fighter; it almost reminded him of Pirate Hunter Zoro except leaner. There was something definitely odd about this boy.

"Just what are you…" The surgeon muttered to himself.

Toshiro stiffened suddenly, jaw clenched, a fear reaction. Nightmare? Well with a scar like this one there had to be something horrifying behind it, Law couldn't really blame him.

"Papa, it's ready." Dextra poked her head in.

Law nodded and picked up the small figure, trying to ignore the hoarse whimper and attempt to squirm away, carrying him towards the bathroom. Inside he set the overheating body into the icy water, watching carefully to see what would happen.

The ice darkened and more of the water started to freeze, frost climbing up the walls in a blackish tint. Law took a step back, keeping Dextra and Heinrich behind him. The temperature of the room itself had suddenly dropped dramatically and the children shivered, dressed for the heat of the submerged sub and not this sudden iciness. Toshiro was still panting, but it didn't look like it was the heat anymore. The frozen darkness was continuing to spread, shadows beginning to lift off the boy's skin. The more darkness there was, the more panicked in his sleep Toshiro looked.

"Wh-what's happening?" Heinrich gaped. He'd never seen anything like this.

Neither had Law, who could only to continue to watch with wide eyes.

There was a struggle within the boy's mind. Once unconscious, the darkness was quick to seep in, surround him, whisper quietly to him with the intent to drown him into the nothingness. He resisted, but the fear kept it reaching, made it continue to follow him. He screamed at it, wanting it to go away, refusing to fall. He would not give in!

A comforting cold settled in around him, calming him down. Slowly the darkness retreated, as did the darkness on his body and in the ice, and he felt like he could breathe again, returning to consciousness to get away from it for sure. The cold turned out to be the water around him, and for a moment he relished in the comfort. Slowly he opened his eyes, vision a little blurry still, seeing unfamiliar surroundings. The panic started to rise again, making him tense, prepared to use the water around him to attack.

Unaware of this, Law moved forward again and cautiously nudged the smaller figure on the shoulder with his hand.

Toshiro snapped to alertness, the water sloshing as he shifted away from the touch as quickly as possible, the temperature going deathly chilly and the frost spreading further. Dextra gave a squeak as the ground became slippery and caused her to stumble, Heinrich catching her and backing them both up. Law had to put a hand on the wall to keep his own balance, never letting his gaze leave the child as teal eyes zeroed in on him dangerously, prepared to kill if needed. That instinct came from a life of constant danger, the doctor was well aware of that, had a personal experience with it. That's why he knew not to look away even for a moment until the boy came to his senses.

A thick silence stretched on. It took a while for Toshiro to recognize the tall figure he was staring at, Law not wearing his hat right now and the coat he had before gone, the short-sleeved shirt showing more tattoos. He started to relax, the frost dispersing and the temperature going back up.

"Any lower and you could have given us hypothermia." Law commented, seeing the boy start to calm down.

"You're lucky I didn't freeze you completely." Toshiro shot back. Considering the amount of ice in the room he clearly had another episode, he wondered what all happened while he was out and being threatened by the nothingness in his mind. The two children that he noticed were still in there with them were staring at him in awe and an equal amount of fear. He thought he'd be used to it, as his childhood had been full of those stares, but he still flinched and shrunk away from their gazes. He hated being feared, he hated being seen as a freak.

"Just what are you?" Law broke him out of his bad memories, tone suspicious.

"A lost traveler with a very odd power." The boy answered evasively.

"Now is not the time for lying." Golden eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'm not lying." And that was truth, if very general and leaving out a lot. His gaze never left the other's, firm and unyielding. "I apologize for my actions."

"How come you overheated so quickly?" Law asked instead, understanding he wouldn't get anything from direct questioning. The boy was clever.

"My powers give me a naturally lower body temperature so that I'm accustomed to the chill. As a result I'm very sensitive to heat." Toshiro answered easily. No point hiding that little detail now, he'd planned to tell the man before when his body had beat him to it and knocked him out. Luckily the surgeon knew what to do, the ice bath was very comforting.

"I would say you should have told us, but you clearly had no idea the submarine would heat up while submerged."

"I have never been on one before so yes. Otherwise I would have mentioned it."

The two now in agreement, the tension eased up a bit. Law was still suspicious, but he felt asking about the darkness he saw was not a good idea with the children here. Toshiro looked uncomfortable with them right now, probably due to their fearful looks.

"You two, head back to bed, I'll keep an eye on him for now." He told them.

They didn't argue, shuffling out, though Dextra did throw back a worried glance. For which one of them, they weren't sure. Once the door closed the surgeon turned back to Toshiro, watching for a moment as the boy picked up a few pieces of the blackened ice with a frown.

"You said your power used water in the atmosphere and turned it to ice." Law spoke up, catching his attention.

"Yes." Teal eyes looked up warily at the tall figure, wondering what he was getting at.

"Then why was darkness coming off of you as well?"

The boy's eyes widened, both in surprise and fear – the latter made Law frown – before cursing under his breath.

"That's…complicated." Toshiro said, putting a hand up to his chest, over his heart. Or, well, where his heart was supposed to be. "I'm in a bit of a situation…if I'm not careful the darkness will consume me and I will cease to be myself."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Law questioned. "Is it a sickness?"

"Not a normal one, and it won't spread, so don't worry. Though…I definitely shouldn't stay long, it's hard to control it."

"Is there a way to get rid of it?"

"Not anymore…" The boy gave a little huff, his gaze turning sad as he looked back at the dark ice. "I lost that chance recently."

Law went silent for a moment, thinking. Just what happened to this kid?

"I'll be out of your way at the next island, I promise." Toshiro finally moved to get out of the water, sufficiently cooled off for now. "Though if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to ask if you could keep ice ready until then, should the heat get to me again."

"You'll be hard pressed to find anyone else willing to carry you around the New World." Law pointed out, mirroring what the children had earlier told Toshiro.

"I'll take my chances." He was eager to get away, already knowing the other would make attempts to keep him around, figure him out. Toshiro couldn't let that happen.

"How exactly did you get here in the first place?" Law asked instead.

The Nobody flinched a bit, though he hid it well. This area was clearly a very dangerous place, full of murderers and violent weather, nearly impossible to travel. Yet here he was, right in the middle, with absolutely no clue about his surroundings, unaware of the danger and how hard people worked to even make it this far. A big red flag to anyone smart enough that Toshiro didn't belong, and this Captain was very smart.

"I took chances." Toshiro replied vaguely.

"Somehow coming all the way here without a single bit of knowledge of how?" Law crossed his arms, already on track to cornering the boy.

"When you're running away you don't particularly pay attention to where you're going at first."

"And what are you running from that you'd run blindly into the most dangerous part of the world?"

A thick pause settled between them, Toshiro's back to the taller figure, clearly tense, perhaps even irritated if the slight chill was anything to go by, a warning. After a moment the temperature settled down again to normal and the Nobody's shoulders fell a bit in resignation. Law waited, interested.

"I'm running from the only people who could help me…because I may end up killing them instead."

The doctor asked no more, letting the white and black haired figure walk away this time, silent. The words were heavy with depression, Law didn't need to be a genius to notice that, and pushing any more than that may just get him frozen, so he wisely stopped there. That was plenty for now anyway. He still hadn't really confirmed anything, but he found something useful about the boy's character, something he may be able to use.

Toshiro wasn't the only one afraid to hurt the people who wanted to help him.

The small figure decided to keep away from the other children for now. When he thought about the fearful glances the two had cast him…he bit his lip; he was sure he'd gotten over it by now, but even in his emotionally lacking state it hurt, hurt to be seen as a monster, a freak. The darkness whispered sweetly to him, promised freedom from his torment if he did as it asked, but he shut it away forcefully, refusing to listen. He could not give in, could not lose himself, because then he really would be nothing.

He let his Spiritual Pressure out a little more than normal, trying to keep the area around him moderately cool to avoid another collapse. With the heat countering his cold, he didn't have to worry about freezing anything, and that meant he didn't have to try and hold it all in, an action that could render him immobilized as his body was wracked with intense pain from the pressure building inside. He'd seen such a thing happen once, had almost done it to himself, and it was something he would prefer to avoid around the living.

He wandered the halls, trying to find a place empty of people, a place no one would stumble upon him should his ice spread in his sleep despite the heat. If he hurt anyone on this ship, they would either try to kill him or dump him in the ocean, and while he felt certain he could survive both cases, he didn't want to deal with that so soon after escaping a battle for his life and many others.

Eventually he came across the galley, long since emptied of people. Well, it would be left alone until morning, whenever that came underwater, so he settled in by one of the windows up against the wall. He'd slept against worse, so it wasn't terribly hard to go to sleep. He managed to dive into his Inner World to avoid the claws of darkness, and while it wasn't a true sleep, may leave him tired through the next day, it gave him peace for the night. A lonely, silent peace that so easily could be shattered.

His odd sleep was just deep enough he didn't wake when a small pair of feet shuffled up to him and the figure they belonged to settled him more comfortably on the floor, giving him a pillow but forgoing a blanket since they knew he wouldn't want it, he was already sweating just a bit despite how the room was colder than everywhere else. Then they left him to sleep, returning to their own room with the others, hoping he didn't notice.

"Where was he?" A voice whispered as the figure returned to their bed.

"In the galley, far away from everybody." She whispered back. Dextra had been the one to go check on their guest, and it was Heinrich still up asking about him. The other three were still asleep, having barely stirred when everything was happening. They would be told in the morning when they woke and realized their guest wasn't among them, leaving just his coat with them. Dextra had wanted to take that to him, too, but with his body temperature he wouldn't want it right now.

"Shouldn't we bring him back?" The eldest continued.

"I don't think he would like that, let's just give him space. Papa let him leave so we probably shouldn't bother him."

"But what if he overheats again?"

"He made the room colder just being in it, I think he'll be fine now."

The older boy gave a hum as if not convinced, but settled down and let it be anyway. The odd child was definitely going to need to be watched, there was something about him unlike anything they had ever seen, dangerous and powerful, but currently not completely controlled. Forcing answers could end with bad results.

Dextra felt bad, bad for reacting the way she had, of fearing him the way she had. She could tell Heinrich felt the same due to his concerned questioning. When Toshiro hadn't returned soon after she left with Heinrich, she knew he probably wouldn't and so had sought him out, pillow in hand. She felt a little better after helping him, but there was still that guilt, feeling like she had been the one to drive him away from the room, to seek isolation from everyone. Was he always like that? Did he always avoid others once they knew of his powers? Where did he come from to bear such horrifying scars and stiff expression, to seem so empty? There was so much to ask, but it clearly pained him to think about it, making it hard.

For instance, what was the darkness clinging so tightly to him? That was what she had been afraid of, not him. There was something desperately clawing away at him, probably driving him insane, a constant nightmare. That darkness was a scary force she definitely had no wish to mess with, but she felt bad for him…she knew what it felt like to be plagued with horrors night after night, far away from safety. That brief moment of fear in his eyes when Papa had touched him was something she understood, the half-awake state that covered reality for a moment with terror. She wished she could help him, could give him an anchor as her family had done for her when they rescued her. Perhaps then he would trust her and tell her what happened, tell her what curse was torturing him so.

Tonight, though, she would leave him alone. He didn't know them, hardly, and the help of a stranger wasn't always welcome. Something like this needed time. She'd seen many broken people, was one of them, her and her 'siblings', her and her 'Papa'. But this one…this one was going to be hard to fix.

Because even she could tell there was an outside force that was right now, every second, trying with all its might to break him until nothing was left behind of the person he was.

"Poor guy…"


	4. Some Light Sparring

Toshiro was already awake by the time anyone came into the galley, and the first one to do so was Law on the search for coffee. The two said nothing to one another, just held gazes for a good minute when the Captain first walked in before nodding to acknowledge the presence of the other. The doctor didn't say anything while he moved about to wake up. Not about the scars, the darkness, the distinctly colder temperature in the room, nothing. He just made his coffee, sat down, and drank in silence while his guest remained at the wall, almost like he himself had frozen, teal eyes watching every movement.

Soon the actual cook for the ship came in to ready breakfast for the crew, pausing when he noticed the two already inside.

"Morning Captain." He said after a moment. "Odd, this room is usually hotter than this when we're underwater, but now it's pretty normal."

"Our new resident is making it so." Law finally spoke, tone casual as ever.

The cook looked over at the smaller figure against the wall. Toshiro was leaned up again with the pillow in his arms to lay his head on, fully alert but showing signs of lack of sleep, his gaze a bit hazy. He didn't speak, either, just giving a light nod to the other man to agree with Law's statement.

"That's right, you made it a little colder yesterday, too." The cook mused aloud. "Bepo might wanna hang around you, he hates how hot it gets, haha!" He strolled into the kitchen as he laughed.

"Who?" Toshiro questioned, turning to the Captain.

"My first mate and navigator." Law answered. "And also a polar bear."

"So lots of thick fur." The small figured nodded, understanding now. A polar bear being able to navigate was definitely not the weirdest thing he'd seen, not compared to a magic-wielding duck and knight captain dog or many others. Compared to all those Bepo sounded fairly normal. "As long as he doesn't get too close to me I wouldn't object to helping him stay cool, I understand how he feels, in a way."

"He'll be glad to hear that." Law chuckled to himself. The boy didn't realize he'd pretty much just signed himself up to be Bepo's permanent friend, offering to keep him cool, and the rest of the crew too since that meant the bear would stop complaining and wiping his sweaty fur all over them to force them to surface.

Little by little others trickled in and the smell of food became more prominent in the room. Toshiro stayed where he was even when others offered him spots. He didn't feel like talking to anyone right now, plus he'd have to move the pillow and put his scars in full view. The children came in, Dextra moving over and handing him his coat without a word, just a little friendly smile. Startled by this, as last night she'd clearly feared him, it took Toshiro a moment to accept the clothing.

"Feeling better now?" Thursday came up and asked. "Dextra and Heinrich said you had a bit of trouble with the heat."

"I did, but yes, I'm fine now." The white and black haired figure responded. "Now that I'm aware of the high temperature while underwater I can be prepared next time." He slipped the coat on though he grimaced at having to deal with both the extra heat and reminder of where he got the cursed robe, upping his Spirit Energy output to help with the former. Now that the scars were covered, he set the pillow aside and finally stood so he could eat as well.

"Wait, what happened?" One of the men questioned.

Toshiro wasn't terribly fond of the idea of explaining but Law beat him to any sort of reply.

"Our guest has an interesting adaptation to his odd powers, that being his own body temperature is several degrees lower than a normal human's, making him hypersensitive to heat." Law answered smoothly, tone professional. Toshiro wondered how much more he would say, but the Captain remained silent, so the Nobody relaxed a bit. This information was fine to give out, didn't put him at risk.

"Huh, I guess that makes sense." Shachi mused. "So I guess you got pretty uncomfortable last night, eh?"

"He almost overheated." Dextra pointed out and the person being spoken of hung his head; she'd been so blunt! It made him sound so weak!

"Yikes, sorry kid…"

"No sparring today then." Penguin added on to his friend with a shrug.

"I'm just fine now, I can handle a practice match." Toshiro responded with a frown.

"Yeah, but you- "

"I'm sure he can handle it, but if not, I'll oversee the spar to be ready." Law cut off the engineer casually. Really he wanted to know what the boy was capable of, if he could fight while under pressure of high heat. That would tell a lot about the boy's strength. After all, if the heat bothered him enough to make him collapse, how would he handle getting heated up in a fight? The energy consumed keeping the area cool must already be a pull on his stamina, add to that a rigorous training match, would the boy still be capable of even standing? Law wanted to know if the boy could keep a room cool AND hold his own, it would mean he had impressive amounts of stamina and energy, more so than a normal human should normally be capable of, especially a child.

"Uh…well, I guess if the doctor says it's okay." Penguin said, scratching the back of his neck in confusion.

"Sweet, now we can see what you can do." Book looked excited about the sparring match.

Toshiro didn't say anything, not as eager, looking over at Law. The Captain wasn't looking back, seemingly absorbed in some papers before him, but the subtle smirk on his face told the Nobody that the other was most definitely aware of the gaze upon him, was scheming something. On guard, Toshiro quickly ran through different scenarios in his head to find the one with the least risk of exposure. He couldn't let these people know who he really was, and it was going to be difficult with this man around, clever and watchful.

He already knew he couldn't go all out in this sparring practice, that would automatically give him away. His skill far exceeded a normal human's. Plus, he was now stuck in the position of a lost child with odd powers, being too strong would undermine that façade. Though, he would have to show something, because of that façade, but he wouldn't have to show much, keep most of it secret, a last resort. They were still dangerous people, having some surprises would benefit him if they decided he wasn't worth keeping around.

The trick would be making everything as convincing as possible in front of Law; he had to look lost with his powers, perhaps scared even, had to seem about average in strength for a human, since his physique wouldn't match if he attempted to look weak, he had to be overall more human like to cover up that he wasn't. Acting wasn't really his specialty, but he could hold back if he had to without actually being completely out of his own character. As long as he didn't contradict himself in front of the pirate Captain, his secret could stay safe.

He was led to the training room after eating, almost everyone on the ship following, curious to see what the new boy could do. Despite the information they did have to suggest Toshiro was stronger than he looked, they still had him go up against Heinrich for the spar, which he was a little insulted about but kept quiet. The eldest boy wasn't even a swordsman, he preferred martial arts, Toshiro could tell from his build and the stance he took even with the wooden blade in hand. The Nobody instantly fell into his usual fighting stance, even if the prop felt off in his hands. What he wouldn't give to use his actual blade right now, or at least a wooden katana and not this Western style piece.

"Alright you two, don't go knocking each other out, it's just a practice." Spoke one of the older men. Volpe, as he was called, and apparently the weapon master and best swordsman of the crew – second to Law of course. "We're just seeing what the kid can do."

"I'll go easy on him." Heinrich nodded.

"I'd prefer you didn't." Toshiro shot back, bristling a bit. He wasn't one to get prideful, normally, but this was starting to annoy him a bit. He didn't train for decades to have some teenager call him weak.

Law noticed the snap and smirked just slightly as he watched from the side. The stranger had a warrior's spirit after all, biting at a comment like that. That would make him fight more seriously in an attempt to prove himself.

Volpe gave the call for the okay and for a moment no one moved, spectators watching with baited breaths. Toshiro wouldn't strike first, not in this fight. Against beasts, striking first was an advantage, but against beings who could rationalize, it was best to figure them out first and then strike, not rush in blind. Heinrich seemed confused at first, having tensed for an attack only to not receive one. His head tilted slightly, wondering why Toshiro wouldn't move.

"Hey, uh…. are you going to-whoa!" While asking the question he had started to lower his weapon, and it was then Toshiro lashed out, his wooden sword slamming against the other's as it was brought up in time to defend. "Ha…haha…nice one."

"You dropped your guard." The smaller figure pointed out before moving back again, still tense and prepared.

"He has a point." Law spoke up, looking disapprovingly at the young man. "I know swords aren't your choice of weapon, Heinrich, but the rules are still the same; don't show weakness."

"R-right, sorry."

"And you're light on your feet." This the doctor said to the newcomer, Toshiro keeping his eyes on his opponent, almost like he wasn't listening if not for the slight nod of his head in response. "Fighting is something you must do often."

"More than I would like." Toshiro admitted, as that didn't give much away. He was sure the Captain was baiting him, trying to get him to respond in a way that revealed more secrets, but the Nobody was definitely not going to fall for it.

Law didn't seem too upset by this lack of answers, simply continuing to watch.

Toshiro would admit, Heinrich more than made up for his mistake at the beginning, had he been an actual child he would probably be losing. As it was, he had far more experience, and while allowing for a few slip ups that earned him a hit to his side and one at his leg, he eventually won out over the larger teen.

"Yup, you weren't kidding when you said you were good with a sword." Heinrich said with a hiss of pain as he held his wrist. Toshiro had smacked it with the flat of the wooden blade to disarm him and therefore won. He had some bruises from hits Toshiro had made, but as promised nothing bad on either end due to Volpe's rule.

"I suppose we should arm you in case we run into an enemy and you need to fight." Law said with a smirk, getting up off the wall and walking over to them. "Though as you heard, Heinrich is by no means a proper swordsman…your skills may not be enough."

' _My skills are more than a match for any of you._ ' Toshiro shot back mentally, keeping his expression passive on the outside while under the doctor's watchful gaze. "Is there something you're getting at here?"

"I want to see what you can do with your powers."

"We may want to surface for that, I'll have more water to work with and won't potentially mess up your ship if my ice spreads too far."

"My thoughts exactly." The taller man chuckled before turning to his men with an expectant look, knowing they should understand what he wanted.

They did indeed, saluting and hurrying off to get the submarine up to the surface. That being done, Law started making his way towards the door leading to the deck, Toshiro following, the others hesitating before making their own way up out of curiosity to see what the child was capable of.

Law went over the spar in his mind again. As he'd thought, the child had an impressive amount of stamina, better than even well trained Marines and swordsmen, though since he still slipped up in the fight he wasn't overly impressive. But that was more technique than anything, that could be fixed. This stranger was definitely hiding something. Perhaps it would be revealed with a release of his powers. Would the darkness show itself again? Would he refuse? Law was indeed curious. Toshiro was panting a bit, meaning the spar had worn him out some from the heat, so just how much could he manage with his ice?

The Nobody meanwhile was thinking very carefully on what he wanted to show. Once surfaced and out by the water he'd feel perfectly fine, but for appearance sake would have to continue acting tired. Most everyone would be watching. He had to be very careful.

The ship shook again as they breached the surface but he held his balance better this time, still grumbling because everyone else had hardly shifted in their movements. This was definitely not a vehicle he wanted to be in for long, and never again if he could help it.

Law opened the door out to the deck and stepped out a bit before stopping and turning back to the guest on his ship, Toshiro stopping short under his gaze.

"So then, what are you capable of with your power?" Law questioned, a mischievous smirk on his face, eager to find out. Toshiro frowned a bit, not liking the attitude. He was quite done with people hungering to control his powers once they learned of them.

"I don't guarantee good control over it." He replied, moving over to the edge of the ship. The waves weren't too large, the ocean clear of any land or other ships, air only slightly cloudy. A world like this was perfect for him, water everywhere to use, the weather effect could be explained away as the world's odd weather patterns, and it wasn't odd for children to be fighting capable. Perhaps too many power hungry pirates, but those he could avoid and he didn't see too much of a threat, though any with these 'Devil Fruits' he'd heard about could potentially be dangerous…so Law he still had to be wary of.

"Then stop when you feel your control slipping, that way I have an idea of what you can manage and when it would be wise to back off if you exceed that point."

The man had a good point in wanting to know that, his respect for him went up just a tiny bit. If he wasn't sure the pirate's ulterior motive was to see just how much power his new guest had to determine whether or not to try and make him stay, Toshiro might believe he was a better man than most. After all, his former comrades among the Soul Society had far more selfish ideas in mind for the most part, compared to some of them these pirates were friendly.

He let his eyes close, feigning immense concentration with a furrowed brow. He really didn't care for theatrics, but he had no choice here. Slowly, he let his Spiritual Pressure rise, releasing more of his chilly energy into the atmosphere, putting it under his control. The sky began to darken and he heard several gasps from the pirates behind him, startled. Though his eyes remained close, he knew it was starting to snow, knew the ocean water was starting to freeze as the temperatures really dropped. Frost spread over the ship, he could hear the crackle of it when it thickened over itself.

He lifted a hand, his Spirit Energy giving him a dark blue glow, his eyes opening to reveal they were brighter blue than his normal teal, the only thing that remained normal with his energy after his conversion to a Nobody; everything else had darkened. Even now he could see that his ice bore a dark hue to it, more than it should. At least it wasn't black, that only occurred when his darkness got out of control. He couldn't help but frown a little at the memory of the horribly dark ice he'd created when he first arrived here, menacing even to himself. The dark blue at least gave him hope he could keep the darkness away, but that black…

"Damn, this kid's like Aokiji." One of the pirate's behind him said, letting out an impressed whistle.

"Yeah, except I don't think even Aokiji can change the very weather." Another hissed.

Pride swelling a bit, Toshiro found himself wanting to show off just a little more. Law had mentioned that Devil Fruit users, which were common to find in this part of the world due to needing such powers to survive, were very weak to water. Most of the time any water he controlled immediately turned to ice, still malleable but otherwise frozen…but with his new magic he had a bit of freedom of manipulation between the two elements. So then, how about playing with the water a little? Maybe giving the pirate Captain something to worry about should he try to cross the small being.

His finer control was better with Hyorinmaru in hand, but that was something he couldn't show yet. He did the best he could with just his hand, letting the water rise and swirl through the air, curling around him almost fondly. He wished to form it into some similarity of his beloved inner dragon bet let it stay formless and wisp-like for now, feeling the sight would only make him more solemn about not having his partner there with him.

"Shit, you can control water?" One man questioned, and Toshiro turned to look at them all, his glowing aqua eyes making them tense. Even Law looked stiff, jaw clenched, eyeing the boy's every movement for any sign of hostility.

"It's how I make my ice." Toshiro replied calmly.

His calm flickered, though, when he noticed a tug at his control. Perhaps he wouldn't have to feign loose control over his powers, using this much after the spar in heated conditions had brought his energy low enough for the darkness to come crawling back. A few of the pirates looked grim as black color began to seep into the dark azure in the ice around them, a few looking worried and keeping back from it.

"S-sorry, looks like I'm…at my limit." Toshiro subdued his powers immediately, the sky clearing up, the snow and frost going away, the ocean water returning to the source and thawing. The darkness became subdued with it and he quickly regained control, to everyone's relief.

"Still, that's super impressive." Daniel exclaimed, awed by the display as he approached the white and black haired figure. "I bet you'll be really powerful when you're older."

"Yes…very powerful." Law agreed, though his tone was more suspicious than impressed. His children looked at him in confusion, wondering what he was thinking. Only Dextra and Heinrich had any hint, having been around when the darkness had hit full force before, knowing there was something hiding within Toshiro he was refusing to show them, was perhaps even scared of and refusing to acknowledge. The doctor knew there was far more power stored in that small body, what he had shown them now exceeded any ability a human could possess in his condition at such an age.

Law promised to figure out the entire mystery before their icy guest decided to leave.


	5. My Truth

With their guest tested on his skills and powers, the rest of the pirate crew proceeded to question him about where he came from and how he got such strength, complimenting what he did already have in between. Toshiro was rather uncomfortable with it, not used to such praise. Normally he was looked on in fear when he revealed such power, or looked down on since he wasn't even using all of it. This utter fascination and positivity towards what even to them was considered an anomaly threw him off balance from what he was used to, so for the most part he didn't answer their questions, just staring at them in confusion.

Noticing this, Law asked his men to back off and give him space. He wanted the answers, too, but it wouldn't help to send the boy into shock. Answers would come slowly, everyone needed to calm down.

"My country is rather medieval, and therefore rather stubborn about their ways." He answered to the questions about his home.

"I got into a bit of a struggle with some powerful people, and in that struggle I found myself outside my country, I'm not sure what happened." The small figure responded to the men asking how he ended up in the New World.

"I've had powers for a long time, probably since birth, I can't remember, many of my people have various kinds, and since I can swim I guess it isn't a Devil Fruit. I'm not sure why we have them." Was the explanation of how he got such a power.

Law knew there was more, there had to be more, there were definitely lies among those words, and yet they were very convincing, he hardly batted an eye saying them. The child was either amazing at covering his tracks or potentially telling some truth amidst the lies in order to make them believable. But if it was the latter, what was truth? He kept everything so vague, which was actually something a child would do, as children didn't have the best of memories, so Law had little actual information to work with.

"Did someone put that darkness in you or is it an effect of lack of control with your powers?" He spoke up. Perhaps this question would give him a little more insight, he didn't care what the rest of his crew thought about this oddity, this darkness within their icy guest.

The men went silent and Law got his first bit of insight as Toshiro stiffened. The darkness was definitely a touchy subject.

"Darkness?" Book's head tilted, curious.

"Your ice turns black when it gets out of control." Law continued to Toshiro, though also giving out a little more information to the others. "The other day when you overheated, shadows came off of you. Is that normal?"

No answer, everyone looking at the small figure expectantly, curious. The only harsh stare was Law's, but Toshiro still felt like everyone was judging him intensely, suspicious, menacing. He was beginning to feel isolated again, biting his lip and trying to ignore the whispers of the shadows at his despair.

"Is there something we should know, Hitsugaya?" Law pushed for answers, not about to let him get out of it this time.

"What you're asking about is of no concern to you." Toshiro's voice had a chilly bite to it, and some took a step back, getting an odd sense of authority from the child, and a warning. Law didn't even flinch, a similar feeling emanating from him.

"It is if it's potentially dangerous to my crew." The doctor countered.

"I assure you, I'm keeping an eye on it, no harm will befall anyone." Standing, Toshiro let his Spiritual Pressure rise, a warning even his higher seated officers would heed and back down from, but at the icy flare Law just stood as well, refusing to bend.

"And yet you seem to fear it." He pointed out.

"I don't!" Toshiro flared angrily, turning a scowl to the tall pirate. The others backed away, not wanting to be nearby if the pair got physically aggressive. "I can control it, I can keep it back. I won't let it get to anyone."

"And if it happens while you're unconscious, like it did last night? You almost froze me, Dextra and Heinrich while we were trying to help you." Law reminded, the other three children looking at their siblings in surprise, the older pirates gaping in shock, a few turning towards Toshiro with a firm look, as if waiting for him to do it again.

Against the Captain's words and the stares at his back, Toshiro once again felt against the world, and now he didn't even have Hyorinmaru to help him. The emptiness where the dragon used to be was all that greeted him, an endless expanse of black ice that welcomed him with an evil intent, not the slightest bit friendly. The chill from it was nothing like the calming chill of his zanpaktou, if anything it set him even more on edge. His hands clenched into fists, his eyes hardening their gaze back at Law's yellow glare. He knew he needed to calm down, but he felt like the calm in this state would swallow him.

Now the fear did settle in, and his gaze moved down to the floor as he began to lose focus on reality. "I…I can keep it back…I know I can…" An echoing dark laugh in his thoughts, mocking him, as if saying ' _really? Can you? Forget it!_ ' He hated that voice. Hated the darkness. "I can…" ' _You can't._ '

"Toshiro?" Dextra dared get closer as the figure closed his eyes, hands moving up to fist in his snowy locks tipped in black, looking pained. Law's glare faltered, looking wary instead.

The darkness beckoned him, demanded he release the last of himself to become wholly of the nothing, promising freedom from pain and despair…but only because he would no longer be able to feel it. He didn't want that. Pain was horrible, yes, and despair crushing, but it only made happiness that much sweeter…his problem was just that happiness was hard to come by. Maybe…just maybe…it would be better to feel nothing. All he ever felt was despair…to be free of that.

"No!" This he shouted aloud without realizing, pushing back the traitorous thoughts of giving in. Still the emptiness beckoned him in. "Leave me alone!"

Outside his mind, the shadows now made themselves known to the whole crew, lifting off his body in light wisps, the lights flickering, black frost creeping over the floor, walls and ceiling. Creeped out, the crew huddled together for warmth and comfort, worried about the odd phenomenon. Dextra seemed to grow feathers over her body, turning vaguely bird-like to keep warm as she refused to move away, trying to bring the boy out of his fearful state.

"Toshiro, no one's hurting you." She spoke, raising her voice a bit to try and be heard over whatever might be happening in his head. "But you have to keep the darkness back, remember?"

He shook his head viciously with a panicked whimper, looking deeply in pain at this point. The shadows were beginning to crawl over his own body, and clearly not in a friendly way as he fell weakly to his knees, his hands moving from his head to hug his torso tightly in a sign of pain and fear.

"Dextra, back up." Law demanded as he himself got closer, shifting his sword to his left and settling his right hand on the hilt in case he needed it. The feathered child obeyed, moving back to the other children to let their Papa take care of whatever was happening to the boy, her twin grabbing onto her to make sure the ice didn't get on her. Luckily it didn't. "Hitsugaya…can you hear me?"

There was no sign that he did, only a sharp hissing that seemed to emanate straight from the darkness, cold and evil, making the small figure whimper again as whatever it told him struck him deep. The more the child shivered the louder the whispers seemed to get, until even those outside his mind could hear. Cruel, relentless insults, doubled with the tendrils tightening over their host painfully.

"Leave him alone already!" Dextra snarled at the darkness. This was too painful to watch, to see someone tortured in a way…it was something she had experienced as well, albeit from an outside force rather than from within. This seemed almost worse than her treatment, and she wouldn't stand for it. "Papa, can't you help him!?"

Before Law could try to come up with anything, Toshiro jumped to his feet, startling them all, even more so when light crept over his left hand. It seemed to dispel the darkness, the hisses and black tendrils dispersing, but the figure had no conscious control over this 'cure', teal eyes expressionless as if in sleep. A reflex? Where did the light come from, when he seemed so lost to darkness?

"I can't…lose yet…" He stated hoarsely. "Not yet…please…"

"Hitsugaya?" Law attempted to get the boy's attention, doubting he could at this point though.

Toshiro collapsed.

They thought that meant it was over, but while the shadows had left due to the light, the black ice was still spreading, now over the thin form unconscious on the ground.

"C-Capt-t-tain, what-t-t's going-g-g on?" Shachi asked with a shiver, the air reaching freezing as Toshiro's odd power continually rose, feeding off his energy even as he remained unconscious. It seemed dangerous for not only them, but the small figure himself.

Law didn't answer the mechanic at first, kneeling next to the figure and ignoring the ice to turn him onto his back, feeling for a pulse. His eyes widened as he noticed with a twinge of horror Toshiro didn't have one. He leaned his head down on the boy's chest, jaw clenching as the cold bit at his ear, and after a moment picked his head back up in surprise.

"He doesn't have a heartbeat." He said aloud. "He's breathing…but he has no pulse."

"What, that's impossible!" One of his nurses exclaimed, the young Puffin looking startled.

"That's what it was." Dextra realized in horror. "Why he felt so empty. When I listened for him with my Haki, I never heard a heartbeat!"

As if wanting to be sure, Law put a hand over the boy's chest and used his ability in an attempt to grab the heart. Nothing came to his hand. There was literally no heart inside him. In reaction to the invading power, Toshiro lashed out in his sleep, eyes opening but dull as he wasn't really awake, ice threatening to overwhelm the doctor if he wasn't quick to jump back.

Gasping for air, Toshiro's eyes came back into focus as he did begin to wake, looking fearfully at the ebony frost creeping over his form and around him in the room. It was like back in the jungle all over again, his control had slipped, but at least this time it hadn't consumed everything in a thick layer. The frost he could get rid of, and he did so quickly, drawing his power back in before anybody could freeze. He felt tired, though, drained, and now a little apprehensive. That damned pirate Captain had to hit a nerve; he hated the idea of losing to this darkness, especially with other people at risk. He was unaware of the secret Law had uncovered, but there was no doubt it was going to be mentioned.

"What are you?" Law said none too kindly upon noticing the small figure had come to his senses, the ice dissipating.

Toshiro flinched as if the words were painful. In a sense they were, stark reminders of his past, and one of his present situation that he hated with everything he had left.

"Nobody." He said. He was saying the truth, knowing full well the word would not give them the same meaning that he meant while still not lying. "Just…a Nobody."

"What nobody can survive without a heart?" Volpe spoke with a guarded tone.

Their guest stiffened, eyes wide.

"How…did you…?"

"You had no pulse." Law explained. "You collapsed after your little panic attack, and when I checked for a pulse, there wasn't one. You don't have a heart."

Now it was Toshiro who looked guarded. He couldn't tell them, wouldn't, not just because they would never believe him but because if he told them the balance would be upset, the world would be a prime target for the threats outside of it.

"I have a feeling there's more to the term Nobody when you say it than what we think you mean." Law continued.

The small figure's demeanor changed entirely, the air deathly cold as he leveled a glare on the pirate Captain, expression hard, standing to his full height even if that wasn't much. There was no child left in his posture, and everyone grew wary, Law frowning a bit but holding his ground.

"What I am is of no concern to you." Toshiro spoke harshly, tone bitter and authoritative, someone used to giving orders. "I'll be gone at the next island and trouble you no more. I can hold the darkness back until then, if you can avoid provoking me as you have been."

"Provoking you?" Law bristled a bit. "Twice now you have almost unconsciously frozen me and several others in my crew, it is you who have provoked me, and in that same line that is plenty for me to be concerned about."

"The first I will admit was on me, I was unaware of the rising heat due to submersion, but this second bout was definitely a result of you sticking your nose where it shouldn't be."

"How many lies have you told since you arrived here? How much are you covering up? I was curious about your ability, but now it is a risk, and as Captain it's my responsibility to make sure you don't harm my crew. Naturally that means I want to know what the Hell kind of dangers you brought with you."

"Not everything was a lie." Toshiro sighed as if the conversation was exhaustive. "I am Hitsugaya Toshiro. I am lost here, unaware of my surroundings, and I have had my powers for a long time. I am a swordsman, a warrior, and my people are far away from here. My powers are unstable and I am having trouble with them, but I mean no harm to your crew, and I am dealing with a rather difficult situation the led to me escaping to this place.

"The only lies were I don't know what my powers are, as I in fact know them perfectly well, and that I don't have good control of it. It's the darkness I can't control well, my powers I have long since learned to use."

"You were just being vague then?"

"I have to be, if I were to tell you everything you wouldn't believe half of it and all of it would put you in far more danger than my being here does." Toshiro's eyes narrowed. "There are dark forces at work beyond what you know here, it's not a good idea to jump into the middle." His gaze fell a bit. "If I had been given a choice I never would have gotten involved at all, but unfortunately my participation was forced."

"Participation in what?" Law tested.

"You can't trick me into giving answers, Trafalgar." Toshiro lifted his gaze again with a chilly glare. "And torture won't work either, I won't speak."

"I'd rather not torture a child if I can help it."

Toshiro smirked just slightly, a knowing smirk, almost mocking, but didn't explain the reason behind the look. The Nobody so wanted to say his actual age, say he was a good two or three times the age of the other Captain, but that was still within the information he couldn't give, wasn't allowed to explain. He was definitely the oldest here, but he'd keep that to himself.

"I will answer what I can, but no more than what I'm allowed or feel comfortable telling. I have no obligation to explain more than that." He said to them all instead, tone sharp so they knew he would not budge at all on the topic.

"I have a feeling the majority of my questions will be ignored then." Law scoffed, clearly irritated.

"Most likely." Toshiro agreed casually.

"Then I won't bother. I will, however, ask you warn us if your control over that darkness slips. I'd like to keep my crew out of harms way."

Toshiro looked somewhat appreciative of that comment.

"I will." He promised. "You allowed me onto your ship knowing practically nothing of what I am or can do, the least I can do in return is make sure my problems don't become your problems."

"Glad that's settled." The Captain nodded before his head tilted a small smirk forming. "Don't think I'm going to give up trying to get information out of you, though."

Instead of angered, the small figure seemed a tad amused by that.

"A challenge? It'll keep my mind off the heat and darkness, I suppose."

"Where did that darkness come from?" Dextra tried to ask.

Toshiro didn't answer for a moment, and in that moment they all thought maybe he wouldn't answer, but with a heavy sigh he spoke, to their surprise.

"An enemy, one I wasn't prepared for." The regret and self-loathe in his tone was clear. "I let my emotions cloud my judgement and now I'm stuck like this." He seemed to remember something then, looking curiously at the ship's Captain and doctor. "How did you know I had no heart? My lack of pulse could be explained as the intensity of the cold I made slowed it, but to jump straight to me not having a heart…"

"I'm a Devil Fruit user." Law stated simply as a reminder before explaining further. "The Op-Op Fruit is the one I ate. Within my Room, I can perform any tricks I want. I am the surgeon, those trapped inside are my patients. Removing a heart is one such trick I have, but when I tried to take yours, nothing came out."

Toshiro looked a little put off by his explanation, as if reminded of something unpleasant. In a way he was, knowing another who would gladly want such a power to perform his experiments easier, not to mention the idea of removing a heart so easily was a little too close to the Heartless for comfort. Obviously this power was a little different, more technical rather than magical, but the result was the same and creepy.

Wait, if Law could so easily remove a heart…

"Can you give someone a heart who doesn't have one?" The Ice Nobody finished his thoughts aloud as a question towards the surgeon.

Law looked confused for a moment, wondering where it came from and why Toshiro looked so eager when just seconds ago he'd clearly been repulsed.

"…It would still be someone else's…" He replied, frowning and brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what the boy was on about.

Toshiro's mind was working rapidly, realizing a potential breakthrough with his problem.

"What if it was technically mine? If it was…well, more of a spirit form?"

"I don't understand." Law stated truthfully. His crew practically had question marks over their heads, even more lost than their Captain.

"Forget what I said earlier, I think you can help me." Toshiro looked almost desperate. "If I explain my situation, will you help me become whole again?"

"Whole again?" By this point Law was in the same position as his crew, at a complete loss. Even the draw of promised information wasn't helpful, he had no idea why Toshiro had changed his mind just by learning what his powers can do.

"I'm only half a person, a Nobody as I said. I'm…missing my other half. My heart, my spirit… But, if your power can do what you say it does, maybe you can fix it." Toshiro knew this was dangerous, that he was jumping at a chance before learning if it was really possible, but the darkness was getting closer by the day, he didn't know how much longer he could wait. Not by himself.

"Did you not just say such knowledge was dangerous?"

"I did, and that's still true, so if you don't want to risk it I'll stay silent as I earlier promised. But you may be the only person who can help me before the darkness takes away everything I am, everything I have left of myself."

"Your situation is so dire you'd go against everything you stated earlier to fix it?"

"My situation…is very complicated. If you can really help me, I can use the power I get back once whole to keep you and your crew safe from the outside forces I mentioned. I may be desperate, but I'm not blind, I can take measures to ensure the lowest amount of risks."

Law was clearly thinking about it. He had wanted nothing more than to learn the truth, but now that it was being offered he was wary, mostly because Toshiro had made it clear he would say nothing of it but now was practically throwing it out.

"You do realize you're trusting a pirate?" Law wanted to make sure Toshiro knew what he was getting into, he owed the boy that much if he was going to put his own existence on the line.

"I have far worse people as my allies where I come from, compared to some of them you pirates would be considered heroes, and yet I still trust them…to an extent." Toshiro retorted easily. He had no problems asking for the help of a pirate, he'd rather that then ask something of Kurotsuchi, and he had to do that all the time.

"I suppose I'll get to learn about that at some point?"

"Perhaps, I'd prefer to keep my personal story out of things. I only wish to tell you what you need to know to fix my situation, maybe more, the less I tell you the less risk there is."

"I suppose you better start talking then." Law shifted his sword back to its casual stance over his shoulder, having been holding it ready to draw for some time. That was enough for Toshiro to know the pirate had accepted the terms. He would still keep an eye out for betrayal, the other had a point about trusting pirates, but for now he had hope that maybe he'd been lucky to come here, meet these specific pirates in a world full of them. His mad dash for an escape had brought him to someone who could be the answer to returning him to normal, to beating Xemnas.

He knew he'd be in huge trouble with the Soul Society and the other Keybearers, but there was a lot more at stake than some pirates knowing about their existence if he stayed a Nobody in reach of the darkness.

* * *

 **Just curious, do any of my readers live in Texas? If so, are you going to San Japan?**


	6. My Situations Is Difficult

Law had decided that only he would get to know the secrets Toshiro had to give. Should something indeed come after them, he had every intention to let his crew and children escape and draw that threat away. So, despite the pleading and arguing of his subordinates and the puppy eyes of his orphans, Law would not let them know a single thing. Dextra tried to use what she'd explained to Toshiro as Observation Haki to listen in from afar, but some kind of barrier blocked her out, and she sulked in the room she shared with her siblings, defeated.

The Captain looked on at the faintly glowing barrier around his infirmary in fascination.

"Kido, you called it?" He turned back to the being who had cast it.

"Yes, Binding Kido specifically." Toshiro explained. "It ranges from barriers, bindings and various other supporting abilities. This one will keep out unwanted presences, including any risk of being listened in on. I was told about your Haki; it should block that as well."

"Useful." Law moved away from the door and over to where the small figure had decided to sit on one of the beds. "Now then, as much as I'd love to learn more about this Kido, I want to know what you were talking about earlier. You said you were half a person, known as a Nobody…not whole…"

"My lack of a heart is part of that." Toshiro motioned for him to take a chair; this would take a while. Interested, Law did so, sword nearby. Toshiro didn't seem to mind; he'd be doing the same if he was in such a situation. "I suppose I should start by explaining that I am not from this world."

"You mean…you're from another planet?" Law looked disbelieving.

"Keep an open mind, I did say you wouldn't believe half of what I told you." Toshiro seemed rather amused by the pirate's immediate denial of the existence of other worlds. "This place is one of many worlds, naturally they aren't supposed to know of each other, hence why I'm not really supposed to be telling you this. I thought my world was the only one with sentient life for many decades until I was dragged from it by darkness."

"Many decades?" The Nobody was once more amused that this was the fact the doctor was most baffled by.

"How old do you think I am, Trafalgar Law?" Toshiro answered with a question.

Law hesitated, remembering how the boy always seemed to stiffen and look annoyed when called a child in any way.

"Fifteen at most, and I'm only saying that because of your maturity, you physically look twelve."

There was that twitch of annoyance, then a heavy sigh.

"I'm over a century old." The 'boy' huffed. "Before you say anything, let me say that I am not human and was not human even before becoming a Nobody. I am what's known as a Soul Reaper, or perhaps Grim Reaper as some know it." He saw Law's increasing look of surprise and felt he should continue before the pirate bombarded him either with questions or angry shouts about his insanity. "I come from the Soul Society, an afterlife of my world where the living humans are. There, I am one of many warriors who assist in helping the dead move on and fighting those spirits that have become corrupted, generally protecting the balance of souls. Soul Reapers live for much longer than a living human, hence my age."

"If you are already dead how can you be further split apart as you have?" Now Law was getting to the questions about Toshiro's current predicament, and the Nobody was glad he wasn't getting off track.

"Among the various worlds are creatures known as Heartless." He explained. "They are the darkness in one's heart manifested as one dies, and they seek to consume the hearts of more people, creating even more Heartless like a plague. Sometimes, if a human has a strong enough heart, a shell will be left behind, a Nobody. They are completely without a heart, part of nothing, and they seek to regain what they've lost." He paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable, no doubt remembering his own separation. "My situation is a little unique…as I'm already dead, becoming a Heartless and Nobody works a little differently."

"How so?" Law was listening intently.

"Here, let me show you something." Toshiro held his right hand out. The flash was instant and the weapon formed without hesitation. It was an impressive weapon, a long katana as tall as Toshiro was, guard a four-pointed star with a purple wrapped hilt. The silver of the blade shone with an almost icy color. A long chain hung off the hilt end of the sword with a large crescent blade attached at the end.

"This sword is unique to me and me only." The small figure stated as Law looked over the blade, impressed. "Every Soul Reaper has their own. No two are ever the same." He seemed hesitant when saying that, though, but Law felt it wasn't his place to ask, not until he had the more important things out of the way. "This is Hyorinmaru, my sword. My zanpaktou. These blades are capable of sending off souls and eliminating the evil spirits where no normal blade can. In addition, zanpaktous have a soul within them, the soul that belongs to the name. We unleash our zanpaktou's power once we learn that name."

"So it's this Hyorinmaru you get your ice abilities from?" Law was intrigued.

"Yes and no. Zanpaktous are an extension of ourselves, so it is MY power, but we learn to grow and master our power through our spirits. Should my sword fall to someone else, they could not use any of its power. Only I can unleash it."

"So this spirit has something to do with how you could be separated?" Toshiro nodded, realizing Law was able to piece things together for himself and staying quiet. "If you are the Nobody, this spirit of yours must have become the Heartless, correct? You said before the heart you wanted returned was technically yours but in a spirit form."

"Yes, that's right, Hyorinmaru has been separated from me and become my Heartless." A solemn look entered his teal eyes. "A Soul Reaper's zanpaktou is a valuable partner, they are always with us, no matter what. Should we ever be alone, they will remain to guide us. But…I have now lost that connection. That's why…that's why the darkness is hard to control." He sighed. "I've heard from many that my connection with Hyorinmaru is among the strongest of any Soul Reaper. Rarely do we have problems with each other. Even when we separated and he was a Heartless ruled by instinct, he obeyed me. So…I am kind of…dependent on his presence." He looked very ashamed admitting that. "When I'm stressed, he always calmed me down, kept me cool, but now it's empty inside, and I'm constantly on edge. I stress for even a moment and instead of his calming aura I sense nothing but darkness trying to consume me." His hand went up into his hair again. "It's enough to drive anyone mad…"

Having remained quiet, Law had to agree, he was watching even now as the calm warrior slowly fell into a shivering mess.

"You better calm yourself now before the darkness comes back." He stated calmly, starting to understand now why Toshiro was so desperate for him to use his fruit powers to reverse this transformation. After over a century with the spirit there to guide him he was without one, lost, and while he may be many times older than Law the small Reaper was clearly more a child than Toshiro himself wanted to admit, heavily reliant on his partner to aid him.

"R-right…" Toshiro latched onto the voice to pull away from the emptiness drowning him within. "Right…but…I guess you can see now…I NEED Hyorinmaru back. A Soul Reaper without his zanpaktou…and in a situation like mine…honestly it's kind of pathetic." The small figure went silent, eyes closed with a pained expression. How did Demyx manage this? How did he survive so long without his spirit there to help him? Perhaps he just wasn't as close, as Toshiro had stated earlier. "So…can you help me?"

Law was at war with himself. He understood now why Toshiro didn't want to tell them any of this, there was far more at work than anyone living on this world could have believed. He could say no, send this creature off and forget all about it, return to the ignorance the rest of his world held and focus on the One Piece.

But this warrior had just revealed possibly his most vulnerable state, that despite his power, clearly far more than what he'd already shown them, he was weak. He needed help, and he was trusting Law of all people to save him.

An incurable disease that only one thing could fix.

And Law had to curse himself for always inputting his own past onto others, for thinking that 'boy, wouldn't he have been glad for someone to save him then' and getting attached. The orphans on his ship were one thing, that had turned out alright, if a little difficult when Dextra got her fruit power, but this 'boy' was not an orphan bullied by a gang, he was a warrior, a high-ranking one no less, and could potentially kill them all.

And yet here he was, revealing his biggest weakness, desperate for help.

"I'll do what I can." Law finally gave in. "I suppose we would need your Heartless here to even try it."

"Right…and I left them all behind." Another heavy sigh. "But he'll find me…I'm sure he will. Heartless can travel realms the others can't, he'll get here."

"What does your spirit look like?" Law figured that was important to know if they ever spotted the beast and Toshiro wasn't around to point it out before they thought it a threat and made it mad.

"A large ice dragon, almost as big as your ship." Toshiro replied easily, as if such a thing were normal. "Though he used to be normal ice, now he's completely black since he's made of shadow- "

"Wait." Law cut him off. "Your inner spirit…a reflection of you…is a giant dragon?"

"…Yes." Toshiro looked cautious. "Do dragons mean something here?"

"Depends. No living dragons are here, that I know of, the only one I've ever seen was artificially created. Dragons are a symbol of power, is all."

"The same for most places." A small nod.

"For someone so small it's surprising to know your spirit is something so grand."

"I'm not that small." Toshiro grumbled, frowning when Law just chuckled. "Just because you're so damn tall doesn't mean I'm that small."

"I'm about average height for this world, actually." The pirate countered, only serving to irritate the small figure more.

"What is this, a world of giants?" Toshiro scoffed.

"In a way." Law chuckled again. "Good to see you've calmed back down."

Toshiro blinked, confused for a moment, before realizing the other had done that on purpose, getting his mind off the darker part of himself trying to drag him down, the memories plaguing him.

"You're cleverer than even I gave you credit for." He smirked, impressed. "I best watch my step."

"I was going to say the same of you, I'd prefer not to be fed to a dragon." Law retorted with a smirk in kind. "So then, are the people you ran away from going to follow you as well?"

"I'm sure they'll try, but without knowing where I went to it could take weeks for them to track me down, especially since I came to a random world." The Nobody frowned.

"How did you come here?"

"Like the Heartless, Nobodies can form a dark portal to wherever they wish to go. It's handy for switching worlds, but…it's not something I'm good at yet. I had no conscious control over the portal I made to here, and I'm honestly not sure I can do it again." Teal eyes narrowed at the floor. "I've only been a Nobody for a day and a half and honestly I hope I don't ever have to get used to it."

"If you could control it, though, you wouldn't even need to worry about freelancing on ships." Law stated.

"Doesn't matter, I'm sticking with yours now since you can potentially help me." Toshiro retorted easily. "And I try not to be a freelancer, I'll do work as need be to make up for the food and transportation offered, I understand nothing comes free."

"Especially not with pirates." A small smirk returned to the surgeon's face. "Should it come to it, would you help us in battle?"

Teal eyes narrowed.

"Depends on the opponent, I don't kill humans."

"Then don't kill them, but with your abilities you could definitely prove useful, even if it's just to scare someone off." The pirate shifted a bit. "I only kill those that deserve it, otherwise I keep to myself. I may be a pirate, but even I have morals, if a little twisted from a normal civilian's or the government's viewpoint. I'm not the type to slaughter everyone in every town I go to."

"Better than some of my colleagues." Toshiro said with a small sigh and a shrug, intriguing the pirate a bit. "I won't go into detail, not much point, but while I may avoid killing, I suppose I could assist. Don't expect me to steal or anything like that, whatever pirates here do, the whole point of trying to fix my situation is I stay away from the darkness, I don't think becoming a pirate, even part-time, would help me very much."

"Light or darkness in this world depends on perspective, you never really know who you can or can't trust. The higher ups in this world are about as corrupted as any pirate, but at least we make our intentions clear, whereas they cover it up to maintain power."

"I'm surprised the Heartless haven't already swallowed this world, then." Toshiro frowned, starting to close off a bit again. While this pirate offered a chance at salvation, returning to normal, this world clearly had some issues to struggle with. He would only stay here until he could confirm whether Law could actually fix him or not, and if he could, long enough to be fixed. After that, he was gone.


	7. Learning of More Threats

"That's not even fair!" Heinrich whined.

"I could have done a lot worse." Toshiro shrugged nonchalantly, sipping some tea. He'd at least told the others that what he'd shown them had still only been a portion of his real power, and that his skill with a sword had a century of experience behind it, even if they weren't sure if he was serious about the age or not. "I didn't freeze you at least."

"You almost did the other night." Dextra reminded, wary of the other now but still the one who was more willing to approach things others weren't. Such as reminding him about the lack of control he sometimes had.

"That was unintentional." The Nobody muttered, frowning.

"How can you even do all that stuff anyway? Make ice and control weather and all that?" Shachi pressed for information.

"Look, I told everything to your Captain, it's up to him now whether or not you can learn of it as well. Ask him, not me, I'm just the guest." Toshiro snapped. "Now may I drink my tea in peace?"

"Grouchy much." Thursday pouted, hoping she'd get a few answers. They all did.

"I'm not budging on the issue. Your Captain's power is the only reason I said what I did to him, an exchange, and a way to help him help me if he can. Therefore, if I want to keep that deal and earn his help, I'm going to play by his rules, and that means not telling you anything unless he feels it necessary. It's dangerous enough he knows, best to keep the number low."

"But I don't get it, why is it dangerous to know something?" Dextra frowned.

"Once you know a secret you're open to the consequences of that secret. It's a secret for a reason, if people outside those allowed to know finds out, they're usually taken care of. I'd prefer to keep that number of casualties as low as I can."

"So then…there are dangerous people after you or something?"

"People, beasts, there are a great number of dangers lurking my way."

"What about that darkness?"

Toshiro stiffened and sent a chilly glare at the speaker, Penguin, who tensed up and backed away quickly.

"Yes, that is one of the dangers." The small figure said with an icy bite. "And something your Captain can potentially cure. I'd suggest keeping your nose out of it, the darkness cares little about who it drowns in its power."

"But then isn't Papa in danger?" Daniel looked concerned about this fact.

"I won't be allowing any tampering with the darkness, I've seen what those curious about it have become, I promise he won't meet the same fate."

The children definitely looked relieved about this.

"So the darkness is like a living thing, is it?" Shachi scratched his head in confusion. "Then I wonder about Blackbeard and that Dark-Dark Fruit he uses."

"One of the fruit powers is darkness?" Toshiro seemed interested now.

"Yeah, elements are the Logia type of Devil Fruits, I think there's Shadow and Dark in that type of element, though I think the Shadow one was a Paramecia type."

Toshiro went quiet for the moment, taking this in. Two fruits known so far had powers of darkness. He didn't know the people so he didn't know the effects…but maybe this world had its own balance for light and dark using the fruits, condensing the two powers into various Devil Fruit abilities. Maybe that's why Heartless didn't seem to be here, they messed with the balance of the fruits and were kept out. That could actually be useful to him.

He wondered, though, how his presence may be affecting that balance. Bringing the darkness attached to him here may not be safe, if Devil Fruits allowed one to basically control that power, what could this Dark-Dark Fruit user do to him? And there was also those with an Ice or Snow power, would they also be able to control him somewhat? Or would he control them? He supposed it depended on who's will was stronger. Then again, the source of his ice and water abilities was different than the darkness in him. He might just need to worry about the latter.

"Who is this Blackbeard?" He asked, cutting off their discussion about whether the Shadow-Shadow Fruit was more Logia or Paramecia with its abilities and if maybe it had gotten classified wrong.

"Eh?" Penguin had to take a moment to switch gears for the new question. "Oh, Marshall D Teach, or Blackbeard as he's more often called, he used to be some nobody in a different crew, but he killed a crew member and stole the Dark-Dark Fruit, starting his own crew and getting super powerful. His fruit power let him steal another fruit power from one of the four Pirate Emperors, Whitebeard, and now with both those powers he's gotten a spot as a Pirate Emperor himself and is getting a bigger and stronger crew every day."

"So he's got a lot of influence and power…do you know how his original ability works?" The Nobody was worried about this power stealing ability now, nearly as much as his ability to control darkness.

"Honestly it kinda works like a black hole, really, it sucks stuff up into darkness and he can spit it back out from it. That's how everyone thinks he got the Quake-Quake Fruit power from Whitebeard, because it seems to be able to negate fruit powers if he touches them."

So it couldn't really control darkness itself, it seemed, it worked more like a gravity ability with darkness's ability to absorb powers. Maybe he just needed to worry about the Shadow user, then, though from what he'd overheard the user was deep in hiding and he'd be unlikely to run into him. And the power stealing seemed to just work on Devil Fruit powers, so he was probably safe from that. Other than the influence and ranking of the man Toshiro had little to worry about from Blackbeard, then, he just needed to keep away to be sure.

He came to realize just how much of a coward he sounded then. Before, he got knowledge of others to find their weakness to use against them, now he used it to see whether or not he needed to run. He'd all but given up on trying to control his new curse and instead was trying to hide it away until he could get rid of it. A scowl crossed his face; this was not how he should be, he had to stand firm and strong.

But looking back on how that had gone before, landing him in this situation, the scowl faded and he slumped a bit instead. He had let that damn Kurosaki convince him to rush in head on and his own stubbornness against enemies pushed him on, and now he was half his former self.

He wasn't sure what to do anymore.

"Hey, how about some ice cream?" Dextra spoke up, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Do you like ice cream? It fits."

"Um…not particularly." Toshiro replied.

"Really? Seems like someone who needs to keep cold would like cold stuff." Heinrich wondered aloud.

"I'm not a fan of sweets." The white-haired being explained, cringing as he remembered all the times one of his fellow Captains practically showered him in candy. He barely ever touched them, they usually went to bribing little rambunctious Lieutenant Yachiru to leave his office alone.

Not knowing this particular reason for his dislike of sweets, the five children – and some of the adults – gawked at him like he'd grown extra limbs. He stared back at them in his own state of confusion.

"What?" he snapped, defensive. "Look, just because I look like a kid doesn't mean I have to like sweet things! They're not exactly healthy anyway!"

"Aw come on, it's not necessarily a kid thing, it's just living a little!" Penguin countered with a big grin. "Everybody likes sweets!"

"Well I don't, now lay off."

"What do you like?" Shachi questioned.

"Drinking my tea in peace." The small figure growled with finality.

"Do you ever have fun?" Heinrich grumbled with a pout. From what he'd seen so far their guest was very tense and closed off, and while he supposed there was a good reason behind it – that darkness sure was scary and he didn't have to deal with it all the time – it still made it hard to get along with the newcomer.

"When you're in the position I am in, fun is the last thing on your mind."

It was pretty much clear at that point that Toshiro was done chatting, so the pirates soon left him alone and went about their own jobs. He indeed got to finish his tea in peace, but left him alone with his thoughts as they went through his mind rapidly, a series of questions and questions about how he would go about this world safely without messing anything up, avoiding anything that would make his 'condition' worse, and finding out how to get Hyorinmaru here to have Law potentially 'fix' him without causing some huge fight. The big black ice dragon would be menacing to anyone, he couldn't blame someone for wanting to flee or attack Hyorinmaru, he just had to make sure his dragon got out of it safely.

Because if he lost his dragon, there was little to no hope of becoming whole again.

Yes, they were looking for a way to do so. After all, the Nobody Demyx had his other half destroyed, so in a sense he should have no way to return, but that didn't stop them from looking. While that gave Toshiro some hope, he still would rather not have his dragon lost to him, it had already happened once and that was once too many in his opinion, the damage had been excruciatingly painful, both to his body and his mental state.

He lifted a hand and spun a small snowflake over his palm. It was back to a dark azure, which was good for now. His ice seemed to be a good warning signal for the darkness getting out of hand. The darker his power, the closer he was to losing it. Intrigued, he gave the snowflake in his hand a harder shell. He would have to thicken it back every now and then but his ice was much harder to melt once he got it like this. It would be his warning charm, to let him keep somewhat of a look out on his darkness.

"What's that for?"

Toshiro looked up at the voice, seeing the tall Captain of the ship standing before him, mild curiosity on his face as he looked at the snowflake.

"Ever heard of a mood ring?" The small figure asked. Law nodded. "I noticed my ice gets darker the less control I have, so this will essentially warn me if I'm going too far and remind me to watch myself."

"If it's made of your ice won't it melt?" The doctor didn't look convinced by the idea.

"I've packed the ice in tightly to the point it could almost be metal, so while yes it will melt it will do so very slowly and I can always pack more back on."

"Pretty finite control."

"It has to be, otherwise it wouldn't be combat worthy."

Law nodded approvingly, impressed. This charm was good for all of them, because if Toshiro kept a tighter watch on his darkness there would be far less trouble with it trying to lash out at them. The small figure revealed a chain around his neck that seemed to once hold a different charm, but he froze the new snowflake to it instead where it would be easy to see.

"We'll be stopping at a new island soon; do you still plan on leaving?" Law spoke, his original intention for coming over before seeing the charm.

"After striking a deal with you, no, my best bet is with this group now that you know the most about me." Toshiro responded easily enough, Law felt he couldn't be lying. "I think the real question is what I should do once there. I'd rather not draw attention to myself in a pirate crew if possible…anything potentially following me would only have an easier time tracking me down."

"Even your comrades?"

Toshiro gave an icy stare in response to the question. Sensitive topic, duly noted, but Law wasn't about to back down.

"Surely I can't be the only capable of reversing your condition." He continued.

"Maybe not…but can you blame me if I say it's because I'd rather not put them in danger?"

Law gave a scoff and smirked.

"I suppose not, I'm a stranger to you and expendable I'm sure."

"Perhaps not expendable, and while I would feel guilty if you became a casualty in reversing my condition it would not weigh as heavily on my mind if it was a friend." He paused for a moment in thought before his face scrunched up in a look of dislike and then shuddered, Law tilting his head in curiosity at the reaction. "One of the people I know that could also potentially reverse this I would actually be glad to have as a casualty…the problem is he doesn't seem to know how to die and he'd probably fuck around with me a lot more than actually fixing me."

Having not heard the Reaper curse before, Law was a bit startled, wondering who he knew with the ability to reverse becoming half a soul but make the powerful child refuse to go to him.

"And who would that be?" He asked.

"…trust me when I say you do NOT want to know him." Toshiro scowled. "He's constantly been trying to make me his guinea pig and this little incident would be his perfect excuse to get his grabby hands on me, and I'd rather go to Hell if I'm honest."

"I'm assuming that's an actual place where you are from?"

"Oh definitely, and a terrible place at that, but I could deal with that better than Mayuri Kurotsuchi's freakish experiments. I'd like to go back to my normal self, thank you, not get turned into some dragon hybrid or more of a freak of nature than I already am, whatever he has in mind."

Law couldn't help but chuckle a bit, which only made Toshiro frown and glare at him. If the pirate ever met Kurotsuchi he would NOT be laughing, that's for sure, but for this world's sake that was a meeting best avoided. If that mad scientist learned of Devil Fruits he'd be all over Law and any other fruit users, especially if all it took to weaken one was sea water. He'd have an invention for that in seconds, the poor fruit users wouldn't have a moment's peace. Yes, that was a future that should be avoided.

"We have one of our own versions of him, it sounds like, but luckily ours is a coward once cornered and I'm long past having to deal with him." Law sat down at the table and leaned his sword up against it, settling in comfortably. "Pains in the asses aside, if you want to avoid attention from your side, perhaps a change in outfits would be good."

"I'm not wearing those suits." Toshiro immediately argued.

"It would help you blend in best but considering your reaction to heat probably not the best idea." Law shrugged, apparently not offended by the blatant refusal to wear his crew's uniform. "A hat would be good for you though, and something at least similar to us."

"I would like to get rid of these…it wasn't exactly a voluntary change of costume." Toshiro pulled at the leather coat with disdain.

"How so?" Law wondered why he'd be wearing it if it wasn't by choice.

"When…When I was first changed, I…I had a collar on. My memories were still missing at the time, I'd only just woken up, so I didn't even recognize that I was following commands by force rather than my own choice." Toshiro definitely seemed ashamed and angered by this part of his transformation and Law kept silent, observant. A collar? So he'd essentially become a slave for a time. And a collar that controlled his willpower against him. He couldn't help but glance at the small figure's neck before remembering he'd never seen any type of collar there anyway, it was clearly long gone. Looking closer now, though, he noticed small scars…like fingernail scratches. Law's mouth tightened as he realized the Reaper had clawed at his own throat at some point to take this collar off. That didn't seem right to him.

"So one such command was to wear that?" Law asked, getting his mind off the collar and the scars for now.

"Yes, it's their uniform, the Nobodies. My Soul Reaper garb was torn up anyway from previous battles but I'd still prefer those to this damn thing."

"I suppose a new outfit will be what you'll be getting at this island, then. I'll have one or two of my men go with you."

"Perhaps it's best I stay alone until I have my 'disguise' so I'm not seen with you just yet." The Nobody countered. Noticing Law's slight glare, he sighed. "I understand your plan was to keep an eye on me, but like I said, I've made a deal with you…and I'm not backing out this early, not unless I know your powers can't fix me."

The glare went away. That's right, Law thought, he'd been so desperate for a solution his stubbornness to not tell them anything did a complete turnaround to telling him everything the moment he saw an opportunity. He wasn't going to run away now.

"Alright then, that's insurance enough." The pirate Captain agreed. "Just be quick about it, we're not yet sure what this island holds. If it's one with heavy Marine influence we won't be hanging around long."

"Understood."


	8. A New Look

Later that evening the submarine finally docked at an island. Toshiro was with Bepo at the time learning more about the seas and how to navigate them properly. The children had been helpful, but he wanted to know more in case he found himself stranded, and while he hoped that didn't happen since he'd finally found a potential solution to his problem, he could never be too careful. Unfortunately, if he found himself without a Log Pose he didn't have much chance, it seemed, the tri-dial wrist device itself didn't take him too long to understand, but he doubted he could get one just anywhere if he was ever separated from the Heart Pirates. The device was the only way to get safely through this part of the Grand Line, and even then the vicious weather patterns made that journey difficult, not to mention some of the islands were downright suicidal to get anywhere near.

This place thankfully was a habitable place, a small village there to greet them when they stepped outside. Toshiro thanked Bepo for his knowledge and was quick to break off from the group to look for more suitable clothes for this world, especially a hat. Not so much because white hair was odd, there were much weirder things in this world, but because if he got put in any papers for being with the crew he didn't want his own enemies recognizing him. Had the circumstances been different this would be where he parted with the pirates, as there was no need to put them in danger, but with Law's powers he felt it was worth it to go a little further with them and therefore put in some effort to hide himself better.

"He better be able to fix us, huh, Hyorinmaru?" Toshiro muttered aloud to himself. He was painfully aware his spirit-turned-Heartless was nowhere near him, but this still made him feel a bit better. He could almost imagine his dragon rumbling in response, a hum of agreement or even an icy quip about smothering the pirate in ice if he didn't, and the small figure couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

He'd been given a small amount of this world's currency to get his 'disguise', a currency called Beli. It didn't seem too different than the coins and bills used in the Living World back home, albeit probably different in amount. With that in hand, he found a small shop and sought out what he needed. He wasn't picky, and remembering Law's suggestion to look at least somewhat similar to them so he didn't stand out too much, he got black. Simple pants and a jacket over a dark blue shirt suited him fine, he didn't mind keeping the boots he had – he'd prefer the sandals that he had for his Reaper uniform but he felt those wouldn't be helpful on a moving metal submarine – and for a hat he just got a simple black cap to cover his hair.

When changing he looked at himself in the mirror, noticing the black tips to his normally all-white hair. He remembered his comrades mentioning the slight difference, but this was the first he actually saw it himself. It was an odd look…with a shudder he found himself reminded of how his once bright ice had darkened with his change. His once pure white hair was showing the same change…just another reminder of his condition, one he was now almost too happy to cover up before heading over to pay before leaving.

That done he was left with some time to explore. For now, he was anonymous, not associated with anyone dangerous, just an odd figure roaming around curiously. It was a nice cool evening, soothing even, and he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted before he was stuffed back in a sweaty metal ship. His new outfit was more breathable than that leather outfit as well, a much needed relief. And no one seemed to mind his presence, it was peaceful. This was something he didn't often have…and he couldn't help enjoying it. For just a little bit he could get his mind off of the darkness and guilt plaguing him, could forget the past and just walk in peaceful silence without a care.

"You should see this, Hyorinmaru…the night is so beautiful." He muttered, looking into the starry sky above him, barely any clouds to hide the lights far away from them. "This is the kind of night we love to fly in, don't we?"

He liked to imagine that his dragon was purring in agreement, urging him to maybe sneak away and take such a flight.

"We can't do that, though, people could actually see us here." Toshiro sighed. He didn't want to mention or really even think about the fact that he couldn't bring out his wings with the dragon gone anyway. He wasn't even sure his Bankai form was available to him when they were split apart like this. "There's a good mood ruined…might as well head back."

Just before he turned, he thought he heard a soft voice and froze.

" _Shiro…it's me…_ " The voice was hauntingly familiar and had his heart been in his chest it would be pounding frantically. He gulped, wanting to pretend he hadn't heard it, but slowly turned towards it…

"Ah, Toshiro!"

Startled, he whipped towards the new voice with apprehension, the air growing cold and in turn startling Thursday who stopped in her tracks and looked at him in confusion.

"Whoa, easy, you look like you've seen a ghost." She stated nervously.

"More like…heard one…" Toshiro got himself back under control quick enough, looking towards the woods where he had thought he heard that dark fairy's voice echo from. What an impossible thought, she couldn't be anywhere near here, couldn't have found him so quickly. He was just paranoid…that had to be it…The chilly fog amidst the trees was not a welcoming one, especially with the darkness playing tricks on him, so he was happy to turn away and start heading back to the submarine with Thursday.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

"Fine, I was just thinking, that's all." He responded briskly. He wasn't interested in explaining his thoughts, either, and she was quick to pick up on that.

"Well, I almost didn't recognize you, with your hair all tucked up in that hat." She continued on instead, getting to a lighter subject.

"That's the point, isn't it?" He asked, raising a brow in her direction.

"Haha, yeah, it is." She patted his shoulder and sent a smirk in response to his glance. "Nice job, and good job not running off."

"I'd say I don't have much choice, but it was my decision to trust your Captain with curing me, so escaping isn't really on my mind." Toshiro shrugged. "If it was, I can assure you none of you could stop me."

"Ah, ha, right." Thursday scratched the back of her neck nervously. After seeing his ability with water and ice and then his darkness getting out, she was sure he was correct in that assumption. But damn he didn't have to be so cold about it, she was trying to be friendly here since he was stuck with them for a while, but he had such a thick wall up she doubted he'd ever even try to return the favor.

So they settled into silence for the walk back, meeting up with the twins and Daniel. The four pirate children began to talk amongst themselves, but didn't seem to mind letting Toshiro in on it as they spoke loud enough for him to hear.

"Heinrich said he found some poorly guarded safes in a couple shops, we could maybe crack a few if we're careful. Same plan as usual?" Book spoke first, Toshiro raising a brow but saying nothing. They were pirates, after all, even if they were children they weren't going to be good ones. As Thursday set their positions for this 'same plan as usual' scheme he came to notice these kids were seasoned thieves. They all had a specific purpose. The twins were good distractions, both crafty with flashy traps and the fact they looked alike. Well, save for Dextra's scars, but with hats to shadow their faces that could be switched anytime that wasn't too much of an issue. Daniel had incredible memory and was good at building layouts and recon. Thursday was the nimble quiet one and good with a knife, both for lock-picking and in case they got caught. Heinrich was also one of the distractors, and came in as back up if a fight started. Mostly he was the end goal to hand off the goods to when they finished and make a run for it, help lighten the load between them for more speed.

"You seem very practiced at this." Toshiro spoke up as they were about done.

"Ah, well, this was kind of our job before we joined up with Papa, and now we use it to make sure the Heart Pirates have plenty of money and food." Book replied with a grin. "Sometimes medical stuff for Papa, too, but those are harder to get and he usually prefers to just haggle for them because he doesn't want us getting caught."

"Papa wants us to be very careful with what we try to steal. If it's too high risk, we're not allowed to do it." Dextra added. "Anything above fifty-fifty failure is out."

"We had a bit of trouble some time back with a mission…so he doesn't want us getting too risky with it anymore." Thursday cleared her throat with a nervous look to Dextra. The scarred twin made no indication she noticed but didn't look Toshiro's way anymore. He could only assume from that that the young girl had some trouble. It could be where her scars came from. He didn't ask, feeling it wasn't his place, especially since she seemed uncomfortable about it. "Hey, think you can help? You're pretty quiet, and that ice might come in handy."

"Even without the current volatile nature of my powers in this condition I would say no, I have no intention of becoming a thief. Remember, I'm not splitting up with all of you here because of my agreement with your Captain, but I have no intention of joining in any pirate activities."

"Alright, calm down, we get it." The oldest girl huffed. "Half the time the people we steal from don't need it anyway, and it's not like it matters, what's a little gold to them when they're not even doing anything?"

"Yeah, we take it because we need it for food and medical supplies for our crew." Book added on with a confident nod.

"The same might be said for your victims. The gold you took might have been meant for a life-saving potion, or saved up after hard work to finally get a decent meal." Toshiro easily shot back. He had much experience with this kind of lifestyle from back in the Rukongai, and he was quite proud to say he never fell to the thieving ways of most people there…as much as he was tempted to with his treatment there. Somehow he managed to scrape by, along with his grandmother and Hinamori, and never had any intention to steal from others in as equally poor situations as his own.

"Tough luck then, I guess." Thursday muttered, but when he glanced over he could see the conflict in her eyes as she avoided looking at him.

"This world is quite the 'survival of the fittest' type, one I'm quite familiar with. I won't try to stop you out of some sense of justice, I just refuse to add to it."

"That's fine then, we'll just…get back to it."

He nodded and returned to silence, tuning mostly out of their conversation and instead turning inwards. Normally his deep thoughts were comforted by a caressing icy chill and a calming rumble of a dragon, but all that met him now was darkness and silence. He could sense the emptiness calling to him, trying to absorb all thought and emotion once more, but he refused its embrace. The call was weak for now, he could be in his thoughts without fear of losing them into the void for this brief time, and he took advantage.

His situation was definitely a strange one. Not that his journey before coming here was any semblance of normal, but those events before led to the oddity that was the now, relying on a complete stranger, a pirate at that, to reverse something he thought would be the end of him. He understood he was desperate, and this agreement was one he would normally never make under normal circumstances. But a Soul Reaper without their zanpaktou was a desperate situation indeed. During the time the zanpaktou had rebelled from their masters' back home, there had been a sharp rise in anxiety and a sense of loss among many. So used to having their companions, he and many other Soul Reapers had a hard time coming to terms with the lack of their other half.

This situation was even more extreme. Even then, he could still call upon his power, could still feel his dragon even though it was muffled and distant. Now, it was gone entirely, and while yes he could still use their power…it was dark and corrupted.

So, yes, he was desperate, and despite the obvious risks of allying with a pirate, he felt he had no choice. He would accept any scolding he got when he returned…if he survived.

For now, extra caution was going to be needed. He'd given Law what he could to help with fixing his condition, but unfortunately now it was a matter of waiting and hoping his Heartless found him. Without the other half, there wasn't too much to be done other than maybe allowing the surgeon to prod at him a bit. He shuddered, ignoring the looks he got from the children; that would take some working up to, he did not take kindly to being examined, whether to be healed or as a guinea pig, so if he didn't want to freeze his potential savior he would need some mental preparation.

Until that time when the conditions were met to fix things, he had to think about how he would go about this world. Obviously he would stick with this group, which meant treading carefully around anything attached to the government here. He would most likely have to aid in any fighting, but how much? Showing any powers would bring attention to him and could earn him a wanted poster like the one of Law the crew had posted so proudly in the galley, though Law himself wasn't terribly amused as they showed it off to their guest. Toshiro did not want to join that wall. Way too much attention, the only attention he wanted to get was his dragon's, and the Heartless would be able to sense him just fine once they got close enough. Even as two separate halves they were closely bonded, he was sure…or at least greatly hoped…that the shadow dragon was looking for him.

' _I'm sorry for running away, Hyorinmaru…it was a rookie action, but I…find me soon, please, my friend._ '

He was snapped back to reality quickly as the children stood, apparently done with their briefing and ready for their mission as the sun began to set.

"Are you going to head back to the ship then?" Dextra asked of him as he stood as well, but obviously not to follow them.

"Might as well." Toshiro shrugged. "See all of you later."

They smirked, catching his words to mean a sort of 'good luck' since he'd earlier expressed his dislike for their thief skills and wouldn't outright tell them so. Instead the confident promise of their return was good enough, and they parted ways silently.

As he returned to the ship, he noticed the mischievous pair of engineers, Penguin and Shachi, waiting out on the deck. He assumed they were there as a sort of watch to make sure the children came back, but cast odd looks at Toshiro as he approached.

"What?" The small figure demanded, defensive about the stares.

"To be honest, pal, we figured you would have high-tailed it." Shachi responded honestly. That was one good thing about this group, they didn't really care how harsh they were, just said whatever they thought, and Toshiro actually found that quite relieving. Too many times people would try to sugar-coat their words because of his supposed appearance.

"As I told your younger crew mates, I have no intention of bailing now after my agreement with your Captain. It seems that, for now, we're stuck with each other." He explained to the pair.

The two adults smirked.

"Sounds fun, look forward to the days ahead." Penguin held a thumb up, whether out of genuine approval or mocking, Toshiro wasn't sure and frankly didn't care, just frowned at them and took a spot on the deck to enjoy the cool air a while longer. He dreaded the coming days where he would have to endure the hot, stuffy temperature of the submarine while it was under the water. By the looks of the polar bear napping in the night air just across from him, he wasn't the only one, so he extended a small breeze of winter air the animal's way. Bepo hummed happily in his sleep and turned over onto his back, snoring.

Considering the stillness of the night and lack of anything to do, Toshiro thought he would meditate. But the moment he realized his Inner World was empty of his companion still and the darkness nagged at the edge of his mind, he jolted out of it with a shudder, making the two engineers look his way with raised brows. Toshiro took a breath to calm the shivering and otherwise ignored them, once more mentally cursing at his predicament and the mistakes leading to it. Meditating was once something he did to calm his mind, bond with his spirit, renew his focus for coming battles. Now it had the opposite effect, and he felt more paranoid than before. He would have to find something else to keep him sharp and calm, it seemed.

So he settled for messing around with the ice. Pent up Spirit Energy was never good, and fortunately there was more water than he could ever hope to freeze to help release it. Small snowflakes changed shape within his palm before he let them be blown away in the wind, where he just made a new one. When that bored him, he twisted more of the water into a more familiar shape, a serpentine form with graceful wings of ice, jaws wide in a roar of battle. As Toshiro created his miniature Hyorinmaru, he could almost hear the dragon rumbling and a small smile came to his face. His ice even seemed to lighten a bit to a more azure tone, the grey temporarily gone.

"Is that the spirit you mentioned to me before?" The sudden voice made Toshiro tense, but he otherwise didn't respond except to look up at the tall figure that was Law.

"Yes. Or at least, this is what Hyorinmaru looked like with me." He set the small figurine down and started forming another, Law watching patiently as a slightly different dragon took form. The grey returned as Toshiro felt saddened when he made this new figure, the more beast-like dragon with horrid claws on the front wings and sharp black spines a sight he did not like on his companion. Where his first figure had no legs, this new one had rear ones to go with the fore-legged wings. "This is how he looks now, with yellow eyes and completely black."

Law took the figure when offered and examined it. He had to admire the precise details put into it, he felt like it would snap at his fingers any second, or jab him with its tail. The detail made it easier to memorize, though, and so he felt he would recognize the Heartless should he ever reveal himself and act accordingly. That is, to not try to pick a fight with him.

"How big is he?" The surgeon questioned.

Toshiro formed an almost tiny ice doll with no features and stood to hold it next to the dragon.

"This would be your height compared to him." The small figure said flatly.

Compared to the dragon, which was almost too big to hold in one hand, the little doll barely stood half the size of its head. That was quite a scary size difference. Even if the Heartless wasn't something to avoid based on alliances, he would avoid a creature like this as best he could, especially if he controlled not only ice and water like his master but shadows as well. Even Law's power could not touch that without difficulty, and the water would render him powerless the moment the dragon realized his weakness.

"You have quite the beast." Was all Law said on the matter.

"He's not the strongest ice-water type for nothing." Toshiro couldn't help a smirk of pride and a lift of his chin as he said this.

Law smirked in response before heading towards the door of the ship, nudging his first mate awake as he walked by. "Time of departure?" He asked the sleepy bear.

"Ah, Captain, right." Bepo gave a big toothy yawn. "Around noon tomorrow."

"Let's hope Heinrich and the others don't stir up too much of a fuss then, we'll be sleeping on the ship."

"Aw, but Captain, there seemed to be some nice ladies at the bar." Shachi complained.

Toshiro made a face and it took considerable effort not to make a gagging sound with it. He wasn't a stranger to this side of men, and by no means innocent in knowledge of that genre, but he preferably wanted no part of it. It was the only time he was grateful he appeared too young and was actually willing to pull the age excuse to get out of it, the ONLY time. The two engineers just snickered at him and he glared icily.

"Do what you want, but we're sleeping on the ship." Law made his orders clear. "We'll have enough suspicion on us once the children get back, I don't need you two making things worse. And leave your wallets here, only take enough for drinks, losing funds to quick-fingered dancers would earn you both heavy punishments."

Though less than pleased with letting the men go do something so dirty, Toshiro respected the surgeon for the limits he set on them. And apparently his discipline was harsh if their quick nods and hasty movements to hand over wallets was anything to go by. Their guest could only assume they'd lost money before to doe-eyed girls with sticky fingers, if their Captain had to take steps to avoid it. Such childish crew members. Once the men were off with goofy grins on their face and limited cash, Law heaved a sigh and went inside. Bepo chose to scoot next to Toshiro as they silently agreed to wait on the children. It also made it easier for the smaller figure to share his cold with the bear, and it was like a small friendship was born. Bepo even let the small figure lean on him as he fell into sleep, something he didn't let just anyone do.

It was there the children found them, Bepo giving them a small wave and smile at their victorious return and Toshiro slumbering quietly against the soft fur, a small bubble of chilly air around the two for their personal comfort. They all snickered but let it be, just heading in to tell their Captain while Bepo gently picked up their guest and went inside as well. While he liked the cold of his new friend, he had to make sure his two adult companions came back without a mess behind them, so back outside he went after gently placing the boy on his cot in the children's room.


	9. A Little More Training

Toshiro woke with quite a bit of surprise that he fell asleep in the first place, even more so at realizing he hadn't been bothered by nightmares or darkness. His body felt rested again, if a little hot, and he idly wondered if the polar bear had some kind of effect on him. He wasn't one to grasp onto anything fluffy when he had nightmares like a child would, he just dealt with them as he came…but he had to admit – only to himself – that the bear's soft fur had been quite efficient at sending him asleep. It was quite comfortable.

Those thoughts aside, he took notice that he was back in the room with the other children, all five scrambling awake sleepily, probably for chores. Dextra seemed most awake and simply waved at him as she hurried out of the room, the two older ones not too far behind but still trudging.

"I guess your side mission was successful?" Toshiro asked them. It was obvious, but he figured it was polite to start some kind of conversation.

"Yup, just enough to call it a good haul but not enough people will freak out too quickly." Heinrich answered, a big yawn messing up the last of his sentence, but the Nobody understood. "Anyway, Papa might have something for you to do to, you should hurry and get breakfast too before he grabs you for something."

Toshiro was about to bite back that he shouldn't have to before remembering he was no longer an authority, and if he wanted the help he needed, he had to cooperate. He'd done clean-up work and other chores before anyway, even as Captain – in fact especially as Captain because Rangiku was as lazy with chores as she was with paperwork – so assisting around the ship shouldn't be too much work. A different environment, maybe, but much smaller than his division, so surely less to clean.

He was somewhat right. Passing by rooms for the other crew members, the reek of male body odor and the sight of atrociously messy rooms made him cringe. He came to realize that the only reason the rest of the ship didn't follow suit was because Law would sooner give himself up to the government than allow his own crew to leave a mess on his ship. Toshiro guessed it came from being a doctor, the squad four Captain and healer of his home had a similar mindset with her division. He tended to do the same, but more out of discipline and respectful appearance than a cleanly need, even if that was also important. For personal rooms, however, Law seemed to leave it up to the inhabitants, though he gave disappointed looks at those who slept in it.

So with an unspoken rule to clean up as you went, chores weren't so much cleaning as taking stock, checking over the ship and various other duties needed to just make sure everything ran smoothly. The only place in consistent need of cleaning was near the engines, and cleaning that was apparently high on the list of punishments Law gave and something everyone dreaded. Toshiro didn't look forward to it much either, he could only imagine how the odor of gas would mess with his head, and cleaning up oil was surely a nightmare. Considering the low amount of tech kept in Soul Society, oil spills and gas leaks were never a problem he had to deal with, and he'd prefer not to break that streak thank you very much.

His role in the daily life of the Heart Pirates seemed to be a different task. For now, he was helping load new supplies into the ship to ready for their departure, to which he snapped at the hungover Shachi and Penguin for not helping out of habit – Law thankfully didn't feel the need to reprimand him, and even encouraged it by suggesting his guest 'give them a good chill' to wake them up; it worked. However, sometime during the loading, Law motioned for the Nobody to step aside and, curious, Toshiro followed.

"You expressed your dislike at helping us in battle unless absolutely necessary, so perhaps there's a different way you can help us with combat." The surgeon began and Toshiro became wary.

"You want me to train your men?" He questioned hesitantly.

"Once again proving you're a sharp one." Law chuckled. "You don't have to show them anything you don't want to, and obviously your skill with ice and water is unteachable, but surely some sword play or melee training isn't out of the question?"

The Nobody went into thought. Well, Law had a point, it wasn't directly helping them kill other human beings. And it might be good for him to have a way to release energy.

"I might even spar with you myself, I'm curious to see how my power might fare against yours."

Toshiro felt ashamed at the rising curiosity he felt, but knowing more about the powers of the man who might be able to cure him was quite the bait.

"I don't think you want your ship destroyed by my ice, it can get destructive, especially now." Toshiro warned with a cold stare. He took note of the raised brow Law gave him in return.

"Definitely not, we'd be sparring on the occasional island." The surgeon agreed. He was not stupid enough to forget about the consequences of their powers in tight spaces. "But basic sword and melee training would be fine on the ship."

' _So he's already thought about all this…alright then, pirate, I'll bite. This could be a good way to stay sharp…since meditating no longer works._ ' Toshiro wondered when his luck had turned around a bit to give him these opportunities. His paranoia refused to let him relax just yet, but he would take the luck while he had it. "Fine, I accept, I'll train your men. It's at least something I'm quite used to, though I'll have to lower down the usual intensity since these men are not Soul Reapers used to spiritual stress."

"Spiritual stress?" Law's head tilted slightly.

"Alongside the physical stress of training and the mental stress of harsh battles, since we use Spirit Energy as the basis for our abilities there is also quite a bit of stress on the soul. It's meant to assist in developing one's spiritual powers to control their zanpaktou and the spirit in it, but since everyone here is human and incapable of such powers, I cannot use my own Spirit Energy to force out theirs."

"I would not advise that, no." The surgeon frowned.

"I could probably do so for you, though, if your Devil Fruit is capable. That's something I would like to see." Toshiro added.

Law's smirk returned, a mischievous glint in his golden eyes.

"That so? That does sound interesting…"

A short silence formed and Toshiro took that opportunity to ask a question.

"Is Dextra also someone with a Devil Fruit power?" He asked.

"Yes, hers allows her to transform into a Harpy Eagle." His face showed a mixture of pride and remorse at this fact, clashing together like a storm in his eyes. Toshiro had a hard time reading it, only able to tell that he was proud to have a powerful ability like that with his children, but that this power had also caused him grief. Did this relate to the scars over her face? The way they avoided talking about the 'incident' that made their Papa so strict with his rules for their thieving missions? It was not his place to ask, but he was curious. He was broken from his musings by a sharp look from Law. "She's not to train her powers with yours unless I deem it safe."

"I had no intention of trying my ability with hers, I was just curious because you both had similar odd Spiritual Pressure attached to your own, which I can now safely assume is the presence of a Devil Fruit.

"…So you can sense other Devil Fruit users?"

"I can recognize one now, yes, that doesn't mean I can tell what kind." Toshiro became guarded again, knowing that revealing this ability might have signed him up as a spy for these pirates.

"Being able to preemptively recognize one is still a huge advantage though." Law responded. "Perhaps point them out if necessary?"

"I can manage that I suppose." Toshiro agreed hesitantly.

And with that Law seemed satisfied and back to work they went. The sun rose higher and the heat rose with it, but a cool breeze hung around the ship, a welcoming relief to the crew as they finished up the loading. Small thanks were given to their odd guest, who didn't seem sure how to respond. His division members always complained about the cold around him. Then again, he refused to be their living air conditioner while they worked, while here he was mostly doing it for himself and the small space let the others share the relief. After reaching that conclusion, he just shrugged off the thanks and continued on.

Noon came around and away from the island they went. They remained on the surface for a bit longer as their guest and resident polar bear both enjoyed the last moments of cool ocean breeze.

Eventually a nurse, Puffin was his name, came to call them in, and with a shared groan the pair returned inside. Toshiro raised his release of energy to keep up with the increasing heat trapped in the metal walls and Bepo stuck around him best he could. The Nobody didn't mind, he even felt a bit sorry for the thick-furred creature.

The small figure eventually found himself back by the window in the galley, watching the ocean and its watery inhabitants move by, a bubble of cold around him as he avoided overheating by doing a little as possible. Tiny bits of frost settled on the metal around him, since he had to up his energy quite a bit to break even with the heat, but it didn't bother anybody. The only one close enough to potentially slip was sitting down anyway, Bepo happily joining in the cold circle.

Word spread about Toshiro helping with some martial art and sword training, but when asked he refused to start while the sub was submerged and holding in so much heat, as the exhaustion from holding a stable temperature with his ability and trying to train them at the same time would stretch his concentration thinner than he liked with his current condition. He had to have part of his mind always on keeping back the darkness, if he spent too much on other things, he could slip again, and no one wanted that. Agreeing reluctantly, the men waited until it was okay to surface. Law didn't seem to like the new condition, but considering the peculiar state of their guest he allowed it. The risk of either Toshiro overheating or losing control of his powers had too dangerous of consequences.

So, now, instead of surfacing because Bepo complained of heat, they surfaced when sure it was safe because the pirates soon grew tired of waiting, curious to see what the Ice Nobody could teach them. Toshiro chose the deck for first practices, preferring the open air to the closed in sparring room inside the submarine. He was the same way at home, he saw no reason to change it now, and it gave another excuse to have the ship surfaced and therefore not burning like an oven.

Volpe was the one who stepped up first this time, the weapons master best choice to see just how above them he was.

"Real swords or wooden?" Toshiro questioned. When he got curious stares, he remembered he wasn't with his division, and the choice between real sword sparring and practice matches may not seem practical to them. "Sometimes training with real swords is better for faster learning, as you get a feel for the weight and movements, while wooden is more for practicing techniques."

"Well, true, yeah, but…do you have a sword?" Volpe questioned.

"I do…it's just not visible most times."

"An invisible sword?" One of the other men scratched their head.

"Not really." Toshiro held his hand up. Ice danced around his hand obediently until the familiar – to him – long katana came to his hand, the chain short with the blade dangling just above the deck. "It's partial to me, so I summon it at will."

"Cool!" Several of the pirates gaped in awe. Law held no surprise, already having seen the blade in their one on one conversation a few days ago.

"That blade looks particularly sharp." Volpe expressed a hesitance to cross swords with the hollow zanpaktou. That was all the answer Toshiro needed, so he let the blade disperse into the void in bursts of ice and motioned to the man holding the wooden swords to toss him one.

He did so, tossing the other to Volpe, and the sparring began. Law watched as their guest easily fell into the role of master, showing up Volpe's skill with the ease of a warrior of several decades of experience and explaining his tactics to the baffled pirates. Every now and then Toshiro had to stop himself as he fell into habit, having to remind himself these were humans not Soul Reapers and trying to put some of his explanations into words they could understand – since Spirit Energy and the like were foreign to them – and keeping his Spiritual Pressure down like he promised Law he would, so as not to strain them further than they were capable of.

Despite the extreme limits, Toshiro felt it went well, even the children showed promise, though they clearly preferred a more rogue style of fighting. Thursday held skill with a knife and while that was something he felt a member of the Stealth Squad would be better at teaching he had a few tips for her as well. Those not gifted for swords he started on hand-to-hand with, once again proving experience beyond a human's years as even the larger Heinrich fell easily to the Nobody's skill. The adults fared little better, and while improving, by the end of it everyone was mildly miffed with their guest. Among the smallest of them and he trumped their abilities like they themselves were just children.

"You had to have been trained since you were like two or something to be that good." Penguin griped as he leaned on the railing of the deck for a break.

"More like I'm older than you think I am and so have had a lot more time training, but you're correct in that I started earlier than most. I also mastered skills faster than most, many call me a prodigy." Toshiro responded.

"Yeah, yeah, quit bragging." Shachi huffed.

"I'm not bragging, honestly I don't share the sentiment, I just stated that's what most say about me. The same ones who say that just as easily turn around and belittle me when they think I'm not listening, so frankly their praise has little meaning to me." The slight bite to his tone betrayed that these people clearly irritated him. What for they couldn't pinpoint, but from what he said they didn't blame him.

"It's 'cause you don't open up more, you got a big wall up, how are people supposed to relate?" Book spoke up.

There was a dark flash in the depths of teal, and Book froze as for a short moment he felt his life was in danger, a whimper escaping him and causing several – Law included – to tense and be ready to pounce. The moment the glares were upon him, Toshiro's gaze went panicked and then hazy, a sharp cold penetrating the air before the figure it belonged to retreated swiftly inside, leaving everyone outside confused and nervous.

Toshiro cursed himself as he moved away from them. Book's words had been painfully familiar, but he knew his reaction was uncalled for. The boy meant no harm, he didn't know Momo, it was just coincidence. She had always tried so hard to melt the ice, but he kept it firmly frozen because he knew what would happen if it cracked even a little, especially so once he was Captain. Weakness was not tolerated, not if he wanted to keep up with the pressures of being the 'prodigy' Captain. But for Momo he always faltered…and because of that he'd made too many mistakes risking her life, and once again for Sora and the others, the same thing happened.

And now without a heart, 'opening up' was a near impossibility. It wasn't something he was familiar with, emotions already felt hollow, something so foreign to him would be impossible to bring out. Anger, fear, apathy, these were natural things for him, sadly, and easy to keep up with.

Those problems aside, even these memories of emotions caused his hold on the darkness to waver, since they were still strong enough to be emotions, and that was too risky. He needed control, and 'opening up' jeopardized that control.

"Everything okay?" He heard a small voice behind him.

"Fine, just…bad memories is all." Toshiro answered the eagle girl calmly. "I'm not mad at your brother, either, he just…what he said…I've heard it before, and following it only ever made things worse." He turned to face the worried Dextra. "I don't want anyone here to relate to me, or pity me, or anything like that…it's only going to cause more trouble than we've already got, I can assure you on that."

"Alright, then we won't try." Dextra surprised him by agreeing easily. "We'll keep it business, he probably just said that because he was mad you knocked him down seven times." She let out a giggle and the hint of a smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. "You never did seem like the type to make friends."

"When most of them die it's kind of hard to." Toshiro responded without thinking.

Dextra returned to a frown; that definitely didn't sound good. She couldn't stand the thought of losing her close family and friends, or anyone in the crew really…not for good. But he must have, there was no doubt that terror hidden deep within his eyes, the fear she could feel beneath layers of iciness, barely detectable even to her sharp sensing Haki. He was far too used to seeing death to ever want to get attached to another living person.

"What's happened to a kid like you to make you so afraid of the world?" She asked, her voice once more quiet.

"That's not something a real child like you should ever have to know." Was the cold response she earned.

"I went through some bad stuff too." She gave a slight shuffle of her feet as she spoke, clearly not comfortable talking about it. "Really bad things…someone hurt me a lot, and then tried to make me hurt my family…I'm not any stranger to the bad kind of people."

"I'm sorry for what happened to you," Toshiro spared her an empathetic glance, "but I'm not ready to share my pain, and there's far too much to tell. I am not as young as you think I am, and that extra time has only cost me more misery. Even if I were to tell you, to get it off my chest…you would only find yourself back in nightmares, as I'm sure you've had your share, and I wouldn't feel an ounce better for it. What's been done to me and those around me can't be so easily moved on from…not when it's still happening."

"Do you mean the way you are now?"

"In a way. What's happening now only seems to be another step in a never-ending nightmare one man is determined to continue playing, always one step ahead, another story of misery awaiting me and everyone else. The less people I drag into that, the better, so please stop asking. I can tell you want no part of any more torture…so stay out of mine."

And to end the conversation before she could counter, he pivoted and quickly walked away.

"But you need help…" She whispered into the now empty hall with a pout.

She startled a bit as someone walked past her, her focus so intent on figuring out Toshiro she hadn't noticed Law was nearby. Her Papa had his determined expression on as he followed after the white-haired being, causing her to worry. He'd been listening then…so surely he knew Toshiro had no intention of sharing, right? But once Law was onto something, it took something major to turn him off from it, and he was a lot more persistent than she was about prying out information, and a lot better at it.

Still, Toshiro had looked uncomfortable and guarded the whole conversation…Dextra had doubts he was going to drop that diamond-hard shield for anyone, even if he had told Papa a lot the other day, information she would never get to know unless the supposed danger of knowing passed.

She just wanted to help.

* * *

 **Sorry for posting late, haven't been feeling very great this week, lots of projects in summer classes and finals on Thursday. Just been... meh.**


	10. The Foes of My Past

All the way into the ship, standing solidly in the middle of the training room, Toshiro had on an expression of indifference and coldness, a look he had mastered to perfection as a Captain. A look that meant he would not budge one inch on a matter unless he saw fit to do so.

Law's expression was not quite so perfected, as evident by his slight scowl, but he stared stormily back at the smaller figure from the doorway, the metal door closed behind them and the handle turned shut so no one would bother them. The pirate had questions, he was going to get at least few of them answered before either of them left, even if that meant risking a nasty confrontation with what was essentially a Grim Reaper that dealt in death.

"Your children are as nosy as you are." Toshiro spoke finally, tone icy. "I'm aware you're allowing her to pester me in the hopes you will get answers. What you overheard is the most you will get, my private life has nothing to do with getting my condition reversed."

"I want to know about the one you were talking about, the man always a step ahead." Law responded. "If the whole reason you are here in this condition is due to some plan of his, there's every chance you coming to me, someone with the potential to fix you, is another part of the plot."

"I've thought about it…" Toshiro looked away briefly as anger flashed in his eyes. "But I could have gone to any world in my panicked state. The one I mentioned and the one who actually put me in this condition are separate people. Potentially working together, which is unfortunately highly likely, but different nonetheless. The one I told Dextra about is in the highest security lock down my world could possibly have, guarded every second by multiple masters of Kido to keep him where he can't even twitch a finger. That one…already caused far too much damage." Here Toshiro paused in his telling to let out a sigh, his stiff posture slumping a bit. "That man's power nearly destroyed our entire world…but the other man, the one who made me a Nobody…he's a new threat entirely. Supposedly me and two other companions defeated him, but I have my doubts…he's far too aware to have gone down so easily."

"If you saw him defeated, what makes you so sure he's not dead?"

"Call it intuition, I suppose. Or paranoia, either one works. Far too many things have gone wrong for it to be over yet." He paused. "If there's anything I've learned as a Soul Reaper, it's that the fight doesn't end in death."

Law didn't have much of a response to that, since he didn't exactly have any experience with such things. He was alive, after all, and while many a time he wished he wasn't after events in his past, he had come to like living, especially if death was just a new Hell entirely. He could, however, agree that a battle didn't always end as easily as killing the other, because there was always another person to take that spot, and then another and another, or in this being's case the same person having a hand in multiple threats, controlling things even after being taken down.

It did not sound like a fun life to live, that was for sure, and he wasn't sure if he could handle the paranoia and anxiety of knowing your enemy may always be a step ahead, waiting, watching, smiling in the darkness as everything fell perfectly into place and the victory you thought you had was utterly crushed.

After his long feud with Doflamingo, Law felt he could relate a little after all.

"Is there any chance these people could send some of those creatures…Heartless, you called them, could they come here?"

"Let's hope not, they act like a plague. Once they show up, the darkness will latch onto everything it can and spread faster than dust in a tornado until they consume and destroy the heart of the planet itself." Toshiro responded. He had an expression that said he definitely did NOT want to deal with them here.

"They would make good practice though. For figuring out how to fix your problem, in any case." The pirate countered. "I'm sure your dragon would not appreciate me blindly attempting to take his heart out, and I don't often work with souls, there's no telling what may happen upon using my technique on such a creature. I would need something less valuable to try it on until I figure it out, such as one would test drugs on simple animals before attempting to use them on precious humans."

"Heartless are still human lives…but I suppose you have a point." The Nobody was definitely reserved about this choice. He couldn't really argue, many technologies possessed by the soul reapers were tested continuously on other beings – perhaps far crueler than needed to be thanks to Kurotsuchi's sadism – before being allowed for public use. It was just the way things worked. His reservations lay with allowing Heartless to place one step on this world that so far was free of their infestation.

"What about your kind? Would they be sent here either?"

Toshiro snapped a glare at him.

"I'd prefer not to consider myself as 'their kind' if I can help it." He didn't bother containing the growl in his tone. "But no, I doubt you'll see any Nobodies either, be it lesser ones or in human form like me. This world would be quite unlucky to see a single one of either group reach its surface. Even if you were lucky enough to catch it the moment it appeared for study, it would still draw in more, and once they start their work there's little hope stopping them."

Law took to his thoughts for a moment, partly because he did feel a twinge of regret for his earlier words. He never liked being considered inhuman when he had his sickness as a child, ran from the moment they saw the white marks across his skin, treating him as a creature, a plague in human form. He had not meant to do the same to his guest, had just been curious and used the wrong words, but he was too prideful to say sorry now. He was helping the boy, sure, but that didn't mean he trusted him.

"If you're done snooping I'd like to go back to the surface for some air." Toshiro spoke up again, referring to how the tall Captain blocked his way.

His concerns sated for now, the Captain moved to the side, watching the Nobody head out of the room and no doubt to the breeze up above, lips in a frown as he thought about this new information. At least this grand manipulator could not cause harm here, if Toshiro was right, and hopefully this powerful Nobody who trapped the boy in this state was gone, if not for good as Toshiro doubted he was, at least for a long time as he would no doubt need to recover, enough time he could cure his guest and send him away. He could not risk great otherworldly threats to his crew, promises be damned, and he was sure the small figure understood.

Things were a bit tense after that, but seeing Toshiro was under control again the crew didn't mind talking to him again, asking tips and wondering about his expertise, even Book who had snapped at him was demanding more practice along with his siblings. He agreed but kept to his condition of keeping it on the surface, also asking about Dextra's ability. Chest puffed with pride, she gladly transformed. The great figure of the Harpy Eagle was impressive for sure, Toshiro eyeing her talons with wary admiration. Those could definitely cause some serious damage, and those enormous wings could surely carry her far.

"There must definitely be some interesting animal people out there then." He wondered.

"Yeah, though predators usually are considered the strongest, since they make people more aggressive and are made for fighting, but you still see the occasional buffalo or some other big animal out there, I heard one of the big names under the Pirate Emperors is a mammoth." Heinrich explained.

"Aren't those extinct? Or do they still exist here?" Toshiro asked curiously. He had nothing better to do, so figuring out the world around him was something to do, and gave him knowledge to avoid suspicion should he find himself with a different group, more than likely not by choice but best to be prepared.

"Well, the Zoans have a lot more sub categories than the other two. There's normal animals, but then there's also Ancient ones like dinosaurs or mammoths, and then mythical ones like the Phoenix guy I heard about from Whitebeard's crew, heard he took over after his Captain died."

"Could there be a dragon?" This was completely personal curiosity rather than knowledge seeking now, feeling a pang of sadness due to his own dragon still missing.

"I haven't seen if there's a real one, but we knew a kid who ate an artificial Devil Fruit being made by that Caesar guy that made him a dragon. He can't control it well, though we're not sure if it's cause it's a fake fruit or because he's a kid." Thursday answered.

"I wonder if there's a real one out there then…"

"Personally I hope not, that'd be damn scary." Heinrich shuddered. "When we were stuck with Caesar, he had this artificial dragon flying around the flame half of the island as a guard, it could breathe fire and everything. But somehow those Straw Hat pirates took it out, just a few of them did it pretty quick, and I heard they ate it too."

"Definitely not a real dragon then." Toshiro scoffed. "I don't think I like these allies of yours."

"You a fan of dragons, mate?" The older boy snickered, unaware of their guest's connections to such creatures, only Law partial to that knowledge.

"I'm on familiar terms with one if that answers your question." The Nobody responded and the children and nearby crew gaped. "Let's just say I grew up with him, and he trained me, a great ice dragon that definitely wouldn't let a few pirates take him out, not when he is ice itself."

"Damn, that sounds awesome." Penguin ruffled the boy's white hair, to Toshiro's great dislike. "Never seen one, but with everything else we've seen I wouldn't doubt a real dragon existed somewhere. And not like someone with a fruit either, a real one, there's plenty of other crazy monsters around."

"Was that dragon of yours really smart then?" Shachi stepped in to the conversation.

"Definitely so, he'd put many scholars to shame." If someone asked, the Nobody probably couldn't answer whether or not he was talking about himself or Hyorinmaru now, chest puffed with pride as he spoke of his icy partner. He did not feel distressed at his absence now as he had before, talking about him to the others almost made him feel better, as if he could imagine his other self holding his great head high in pride, wings outspread. Dragons of any type still loved to be praised.

"So if he's made of ice how does he eat and all that? You know, living animal stuff."

"Hyorinmaru only needs the water in the air to remain intact, though it does take energy to consistently return to form." Now he felt like he was describing the abilities of his zanpaktou in general, but as they thought he meant a living, separate dragon, he felt this did not compromise his secrecy. "With him being that way, it was easy for him to teach me how to utilize my own powers. I suppose you can say he gifted them to me to begin with. He's a very ancient ice dragon, and very powerful, one of the strongest of his kind. And probably three or four times the size of this vessel if he so chose to be with how much water is to be found."

"That's huge!" Several of the crew gawked. Toshiro once more looked proud of himself. Law observed from his table with a light smirk, understanding more from the conversation than the others did, even already privy to some of it. His guest sure held his other half in high regard, it was no wonder he was desperate to get him back. The Captain returned to his drink and continued to just observe.

A little more practice above deck was accomplished in the afternoon hours before everyone retreated indoors for sleep as the vessel returned under the waters on its journey to the next island, Toshiro now prepared with a bag of ice to press to his head and a lighter change of clothes for less trapped heat. It was a much better night, though he still slept little to none as the darkness clawed at the edges of his mind. At least he could hold it back this time, he would not endanger the children again.


	11. The Desert Hides a Secret

Nothing else of interest happened for several days, and Toshiro couldn't help but feel ashamed at the almost comfortable routine he'd gotten used to while traveling the ocean with these pirates. The submarine's advantage of submerging away from approaching dangers from enemy ships aided the Nobody in avoiding being seen and forced into fighting people he didn't want to. Enemies though they were due to his current alliance, they were still doing a job, one similar to his own even though his battles were against evil of people long dead and not other humans. Therefore, he did not feel comfortable joining any slaughters between factions while he was here, and kept his interference strictly to training and helping the poor polar bear aboard their crew keep cool with him. He enjoyed Bepo's company, the bear had no interest in being nosy and helped the small figure sleep when he otherwise had trouble. He heard the crew make comments that the only other person allowed to use Bepo like a pillow was Law and were surprised he let the stranger do so very quickly, but Law himself didn't seem to care about that, so Toshiro chose to ignore it as well.

But despite settling into the group, he was uncomfortable. It had been at least a week now, a very long time to have disappeared from his friends. Anything could have happened by now. Would the Soul Society have made a decision on his new condition? Would that decision be dangerous for him? What had become of Hyorinmaru? The dragon sure was having trouble finding him… And what of Sora and the others? Would they find him? Would they continue to help him if the Soul Society ordered him destroyed? He wasn't even sure of his own thoughts for such a case. On one hand, he agreed with such a decision, and would gladly make that sacrifice to offset whatever plans Aizen and Xehanort had. On the other…he really liked existing, and all he really had left was the hope he could go back to normal, and damn was he going to hold onto that hope with all the strength and memory he had left.

And there was that brief moment back on the island where he'd gotten his change of clothes. The voice haunting him in the mist…the memory made him the most uncomfortable, because he wasn't sure if his random appearance here spelled disaster for this world, making it visible to dark forces. If his fear was right and Maleficent was tracking him down, finding her way here, well…there was no end to the hatred and other negative emotions to prey on in this world, she'd have a whole new and dangerous army of Heartless in no time, and plenty of new homes to choose from should she manage to acquire them from their equally deadly owners. He could only hope the powers of this world were strong enough to combat her dark allure into the shadows. Riku had warned him, after all, the most dangerous aspect of the fairy was not her power, but her silver tongue, though both were on very high levels.

"Oi, land!" The shout brought him from his musings to look over the horizon. Sure enough, land was in view, and he scowled at the bright reflectiveness of sand that met his eyes. Must be one of those Summer Islands he was told about, and no doubt going to be one of his worst threats in this world. Other than anyone with heat or fire based fruit powers, of course. Other than the obvious desert landscape, the geography made some rather incredible shapes, and only the tops of these odd curled mountains bore any vegetation, apparently managing to shade one single pool of water that allowed a small waterfall to flow below, and it was at the base that a town could be seen. The rest of the island was hard to see, as this was all close to their side, extending to a dock for ships, but they were sure there wasn't much else to see.

Bepo shared the Ice Nobody's sentiment with a heavy sigh and flopped onto his stomach, Law scowling a bit as he had to sit up to avoid falling backwards after using the bear to lay against. A few others didn't look too pleased themselves, but gave no complaints. Supplies were supplies, and they needed some. Toshiro gave the bear some empathy with a light icy breeze through the thick white fur and was rewarded with a happy growl. A purr maybe? Either way, some of the crew chuckled but otherwise let it be.

"First and foremost, find out how long we'll have to be here, and secondly replace what we're low on. Spend your own funds how you see fit, but don't do anything stupid." Law spoke out. Apparently fine with that, he scooted back a bit and returned to laying against his first mate, not as interested in the island.

"Hey, Toshiro, wanna come with us?" Book asked the white-haired figure.

Toshiro raised a brow in response.

"We're not stealing anything right now." Thursday snickered, understanding his silent question. "Just figured you'd like to stick together; we can buy stuff for you if you're interested since you don't get an allowance like the rest of us."

"I doubt I'd want anything, and honestly I'd rather stay close to the water, so use your money for your own enjoyment, I'll be fine." He responded politely.

"Aw, come on, we figured you'd want to get away from the ship." Heinrich argued.

"He did almost have a heat stroke before so a desert might not be super fun for him." Dextra countered.

Toshiro nodded his agreement, grimacing a bit at the memory.

"Right, well…next island?"

"If it's a cooler one, sure." The Nobody shrugged.

"Sweet, it's a promise!" And with that exclamation, the oldest led off his fellow siblings to the island to explore.

As the others trickled off on their own errands or back into the ship for other chores, Toshiro sat on the deck across from Law and Bepo, back to them, and looked out to the ocean. Normally he would take the chance to meditate, but that had not gone well for him recently, so he just kept to his own thoughts, using his magic to play with the water to better understand how his new powers worked. It froze easily under his influence despite the heat of the island, but still soft enough to morph at will. He allowed himself a tiny smirk; he was figuring this magic stuff out pretty well, if he said so himself, it was just like controlling his zanpaktou only with his hand instead. Not that difficult.

He paused and a frown returned, listening. Bepo was snoring, Law was awake but calm and probably thinking to himself, faint sounds inside the ship from the crew moving about, wind stirred the sand and made a light rustle, the water lapped at the island's edge softly.

But it felt too quiet, and Toshiro could sense something off here he hadn't noticed in the other towns. Concerned, he stood and looked towards the town. The town that was oddly silent. He couldn't see anyone roaming about, not even those who had left for supplies. Taking note of his alert stance, Law sat up and gave his guest a quizzical look.

"Something wrong?" The pirate questioned when Toshiro took no notice of the stare.

"I can't be sure yet…" Toshiro responded. "It's just…it feels quiet. And heavy."

"Heavy?"

"Where is everyone?"

Law raised a brow at the abrupt change of subject.

"Doing what I told them to do, half of them are in town."

"They should come back."

"Why?"

Toshiro was getting progressively more agitated as the conversation continued and it was stirring Law up as well, glancing into the sandy village trying to see if he could even see what was bothering the Nobody so much. There was definitely a lack of people in sight, but perhaps they just didn't want to deal with pirates, that wasn't uncommon, and being outside when the wind stirred up sand probably wasn't very comfortable.

"Something is here that shouldn't be here and it's getting stronger." Toshiro was glaring at one of the oddly curved mountains near the town. The cold was intensifying with his glare and now even Bepo was sitting up, blinking sleepily and wondering what was wrong.

"Any idea what it could be?" Law still wasn't sure if he needed to be worried about a threat or Toshiro's own mind at this point, he wasn't exactly stable, his senses could be off, but he also couldn't deny the strange quietness of the area they had docked at. He got no answer to his question either, which made him frown, so he stood and watched Toshiro carefully.

A faint sound grabbed the attention of all three on deck. Law and Bepo turned their gazes curiously to the same mountain Toshiro had been glaring at. The path of brush at its top seemed to be…wilting, the mountain itself seeming to vibrate slightly…or the heat waves were messing with their eyes. The wind began to still, leaving the sand to settle. The air seemed to heat up even more with the breeze now gone, said heat waves getting more intense, but as the sound grew louder into a distinct rumble, it was clear their mountain was shaking more than the others seemed to be in the light of the glaring sun.

"There's no way one could have gotten here so quick…and such a big one." Toshiro spoke aloud with alarm.

"One what?" Bepo asked first, as Law was keeping his focus on the mountain, concerned for his crew still in town.

"Heartless."

While the bear looked even more confused, Law whipped his head around to look at the Nobody in shock.

"You're kidding." He growled.

"Sadly…no."

As if to confirm their fears, the rumbling tore apart the mountain until it completely burst, chunks of compressed sandstone falling to the desert below with loud thuds, shadows bursting forth in a black flame as a huge form crawled its way out to freedom with a terrible roar. An enormous dinosaur-like creature of sandy color, striped with blood red that glowed with blazing heat, spines of a similar flaming glow. Half its tail was a chain with a heavy spiked ball at the end that it was quick to spin around and smash into another mountain as it bared its black teeth. Its Heartless symbol lay in plain view between muscled arms that bore extendable metal claws. Its feet bore anklets of terrible spikes to do extra damage as it stomped its way towards the town. As always, pure yellow eyes looked for the closest source of hearts to prey on and consume, and a town was a perfect target. It lifted its armored head and let out a furious breath of crimson fire.

"It had to be a fire type." Toshiro scowled, seeing the massive Heartless show off its armory while moving towards the town, dragging its tail through the sand with it, probably the only reason it wasn't already smashing through houses for victims.

Law could only look at the massive beast in shock for a moment before remembering he had crew in that town still, no doubt as freaked out as he if not more. He had to get them back in and get away from this horrible place. The kids, especially, they had already been through too much. He turned towards Toshiro hoping he could get him to find the five children and get them back safely.

The white-haired figure was gone.

"What the Hell!?" He scowled. Had the boy abandoned them the moment one of the monsters chasing him appeared? With a growl, the surgeon set it aside and raced off into the town to find his people, Bepo close behind and ignoring the stifling heat to save his companions. That dinosaur was terrifying, but he'd fight it best he could if it let the others escape.

Huddled up against a house, the five children earlier mentioned stared at the approaching beast with wide eyes of fear. They had no hope against such a towering creature on their own, even Law's powers would have trouble with it since it seemed to be capable of splitting itself apart as its head floated off its neck briefly, the armor proving not to be a defense but its actual head.

"This must be why no one was here." Book whimpered, hugging his twin tightly, Dextra's feathers ruffled up over her body, terrified. Indeed, there hadn't been a single soul in the village no matter how hard Dextra searched with her Haki. It seemed they'd long since fled…or maybe already fed to the creature now rampaging towards them.

"We…we have to get back to Papa." Thursday stammered frightfully. "We have to get to the ship and go down!"

"We won't make it!" Dextra shook her head and Daniel began to cry.

The Heartless opened its metallic jaws towards the house they huddled against, as they'd gone the farthest out.

" _Hado number thirty-three, Soukatsui!_ "

The dry desert air crackled with static electricity before a beam of blue lightning slammed into the monster's head and sent it reeling back in surprise. The kids watched on in startled shock at the spectacle before their view was abruptly blocked by a familiar figure.

"Toshiro!" Heinrich exclaimed in surprise. "How did- "

" _Bakudo number seventy-three, Tozanshou._ "

A blue upside pyramid formed around the five of them, creating a barrier to protect them but also trapping them inside, to their surprise when they hit against it. The point hid under the sand but was definitely there, so even if all the earth around them was stripped away they would still be safe.

"Magic!" Daniel exclaimed, looking at the barrier in wonder.

"What the hell is all this, Toshiro, you could do this kind of stuff!?" Thursday slammed a fist on the barrier in an attempt to get out, but it was solid energy and they had no chance of budging it.

"I'll explain later, so please be patient until I finish this thing." The Nobody responded, his back still to them. He brought his beloved sword to his right hand, spinning the chain blade in his left as he watched the Heartless carefully, the beast shaking his head to recover and yellow eyes picking this new target out to strike at first.

"But it's huge! And it's got fire!" Dextra warned.

"I'm afraid you haven't seen everything I can do. I had never meant to reveal myself fully, but with a situation like this…I have no choice. And there's plenty of water to use just a mile away at the coast."

"What?"

Heinrich got no answer as the figure seemed to teleport away before becoming visible again at eye level with the dinosaur. Mouths opened wide as not only the children but others saw their odd passenger standing easily on thin air as he faced off the enormous monster with just a sword in hand.

"Damn, I didn't know he could fly!" Shachi exclaimed, reunited with Law and a few others as they got everyone back to the ship.

Law watched the scene with worry for a moment before focusing back on taking care of his own. It seems this was indeed a bad situation if secrecy was now completely out the window, their guest forced to reveal his true strength.

The dinosaur growled angrily at this new threat, smoke rising from its metallic mouth, yellow eyes fixed and hungry. Toshiro kept its gaze, solid ice through and through. The sky began to darken as the ocean churned dangerously, those still at the ship quick to tie it down best they could and wait worriedly for the others. The winds stirred up again, but this time the sand that rose became cold and frozen as the water was brought in. In response to the declining heat, the Heartless roared and flared its body to life with fire, protecting itself from any environmental harm and bringing up the temperature again.

"This is insane!" Heinrich exclaimed, watching the battle of elements. "They're not even fighting yet and I can practically feel how pissed off they are!"

The air did indeed feel heavy, a result of Toshiro's power, though they were unaware of that, only that the weather was in turmoil between these two forces. Dark blue ice began to spread on parts of the town, but around the Heartless stone walls began to blaze red from heat.

"This is some crazy power, I would have thought Kuzan was here if we didn't know he used ice too." Volpe mentioned as he and a few others held down the ship. "That's one powerful kid…"

Law found the kids, hitting against the barrier to find out just like they did it wouldn't go away easily.

"Papa, he can use magic!" Daniel shouted through the blue energy field.

"What?"

"He shot some kind of lightning at that thing before it could get us and then put up this shield with some kind of chanting." Thursday elaborated.

"Magic, seriously?" Shachi gaped.

"Guess that Kido he mentioned to me before is more flexible in its uses than I first thought." Law responded. He put up a Room, the sphere expanding through barrier where physical beings could not and switched the children for some broken rubble from the house nearby, successfully freeing them from the barrier. That done, the Captain led them all back to the ship for safety.

"But Papa, he might need help, that thing uses fire." Dextra tried to persuade her Captain to help their guest, but did not argue with returning to the ship.

"I think our mysterious passenger has more to him than we first thought."

A different roar made them pause, tense for battle, looking to the sky to see a serpentine shape form from compressing ice and a swirl of water, a dark and foreboding azure in color that held its mouth open in rage as it flew towards the Heartless. The icy dragon-like being struck head first at the dinosaur creature and exploded into a huge array of cold spikes, causing it to stumble back a few steps. Its spines flared with scarlet flames and it smashed its head against a nearby building, destroying it and the encased ice, freeing itself and immediately launching forward for a counter attack. The small figure that was Toshiro vanished from sight before appearing again above the beast's head, swinging his sword down into a barrage of icicles, the force of the hits pushing the Heartless's head to the ground as it stumbled to the ground.

It had no intention to quit there however, practically allowing itself to be thrown down so its momentum tossed its tail up, the spiked mace swinging right at the Nobody. Surprised, Toshiro barely moved out of the way in time, but the distraction allowed the creature to push himself back up, flaring up once more to relieve himself of the ice trying to crawl on his body after touching the frozen surfaces around it. Snarling furiously, it took a swipe, its claws coming clean off its arm to extend out almost like a trap, chains following to keep it attached. Toshiro managed to block them, knocking them away from spearing him, only to see them get pulled back in to grab him from behind. Scowling, he dodged downwards back to solid earth.

"You're a smart one, I'll give you that." He muttered under his breath. He raised his hand palm open towards the creature. It gave a hiss and stomped its way over, destroying any buildings in its way. " _Bakudo Number sixty-three, Sajou Sabaku!_ " He closed his hand to a fist.

A glowing yellow chain dove from the sky and wrapped itself around the creature's torso, causing it to rear back in surprise at the obstruction. The chain held its arms tightly against its body and the beast had to spread its legs out to avoid becoming unbalanced, thrashing its upper body angrily at the tight bindings. Not about to let it try and escape, Toshiro launched up, bringing to hand a second weapon, one the pirates had not yet seen, not even Law. A swirling blade of ice in the shape of a dragon, its head and fangs looking like the teeth of a key, ice covering the handle where it was held in his left hand. It appeared in a flash of light and snow, reminding them of the light they'd seen briefly when he'd almost lost control to the darkness weeks back, somehow saving him. It glowed even now with an odd light as he used it in tandem with his katana for a huge attack of ice and wind.

Not about to be taken down, the Heartless unleashed its own power, opening its jaws wide and releasing a jet of flame at the wave of frozen water, the two powers clashing midair and letting off an explosion of steam. This gave the dinosaur time to get its balance and lunge at its prey, chains be damned, but Toshiro was prepared for the bite, tossing forth the odd shaped blade from his left. Though the pirates wondered why he would throw his blade, they gasped as it lit up brightly and knocked the jaws of the monster away before vanishing in a burst of ice that took out one of the beast's eyes, causing it to roar with pain. The weapon then returned to its owner as if it was never thrown.

"Just what all can he do?" Law wondered aloud as he and the others watched from afar.

"He's as much a monster as some of the big shot pirates and Admirals." Shachi added on with a shudder.

"He practically owns the ocean, look!" A member pointed out to the water as small twisting waves rose up like a watery tornado, fueling the blizzard forming on an otherwise desert island. The only reason everything wasn't frozen yet had to be the volcano of a creature fighting against the user of this storm.

"This one is dangerous for sure." Jean Bart grumbled. He'd been wary of the boy from the start, but now his worries were tripled as they watched their odd passenger singlehandedly take on a living ancient behemoth.

Another dragon formed from ice around Toshiro as he glowed with energy, the air heavy with power. The Heartless lit aflame and roared in anger. They lunged again and the battle continued.


	12. I Am Hunted

The Heartless was definitely a tough one, and the constant flame it spewed from its body and mouth both gave the Ice Nobody some trouble. Despite the constant supply of water around him from the ocean, his ice had a hard time putting out the heat practically rolling off the dinosaur like lava the angrier it got, its extendable claws harder and harder to dodge as it tried to latch onto him to pull him in and destroy, its tail large and definitely high priority to avoid lest it flatten him on impact. The ground was also too risky as the spikes on the monster's feet would skewer him if it tried to stomp on him, so in the air he stayed to try and focus on the head and eliminate it.

By now it had taken off the Kido chains, and most binding spells Toshiro tried wouldn't hold it for long, so he focused on just bringing in as much water as he could to lower the temperature and put out those dangerous fires, trying to utilize his new magic with the Keyblade to direct all that ice to trap the Heartless.

It roared and flared up once more, but now Toshiro know what that meant, bringing forth another ice dragon to clash with the breath of fire, waiting for it to calm back down before deciding he had no other choice. It was too big to keep fighting like this. He had one shot, had to move with its patterns to pull this off, or he would have to start over. His existence as a Nobody was still new, and the darkness was still pressing heavily on his mind even as he tried to focus on defeating his opponent, he wasn't sure he would have the energy to try again if this failed, not if the darkness took advantage of it.

"At least they moved out to sea." Toshiro muttered to himself, glancing to the water to see that Law and crew had indeed moved away from the island to avoid the churning waves at the shore where he drew on the ocean's power. "And with the villagers here gone, no one is around to get caught up in this."

With the Heartless at a low point after having expelled its breath of fire, Toshiro used Flash Step to appear down at its tail. Yellow eyes looked around for its target before finding itself unable to move, turning to see the mace of its tail frozen to the ground, the ice slowly climbing up to encase the full tail in a glacier. Furious, the Heartless tried to turn itself to claw at the ice, but could no longer turn well enough to reach, even as it tried to extend its steel talons.

The creature focused on that, Toshiro was able to move back up above it, holding his hand with zanpaktou out in front of him, releasing the Keyblade to put his left hand to his blade, letting a yellow orb light up at its edge.

" _Hado number thirty-two, Okasen!_ " Moving his hand along the blade, the yellow light spread across it, and once the chant was done it shot out from the sword in a wide arc of bright lightning onto the monster's head. It rattled across the metal armor and stunned it. Perfect.

He wasn't sure how well these techniques were going to work without Bankai, but he had a little extra help power wise with his newer weapon, returning the Keyblade to his left hand as he used the momentary distraction on the Heartless to prepare something.

The dinosaur shook itself rapidly to stop the ringing in its skull, snarling and growling as it pawed at its own head to clear away the buzz and focus again. It took a bit, the electricity strong and lingering, but now it could try to focus on freeing its tail again, and then destroy the annoying being that kept making it so cold. Even as it burned as hot as it could, lava pouring off its body, the ice just wouldn't go away, so it knew it had to kill the tiny person making it appear.

" _Ryusenka!_ " A blade stabbed at the Heartless's shoulder as it turned to try and strike at the ice on its tail again, and next thing it knew, even more ice was encasing its whole body in a huge flower.

Now very angry, the monster thrashed and thrashed, heating itself up and melting through all the ice, steam rising from it as it evaporated the nuisance trying to contain it. Fully lighting itself aflame once again, lava pouring from the stripes on its body, it broke free of the ice and released a jet of flame again, chasing the figure darting to get away. Toshiro scowled a bit, as it hadn't followed him before, but did not dare to stop moving until it was out of fire. It was a push, he definitely would not be able to try all this again if he failed, but push he did.

Finally, the flame stopped, the Heartless following up with throwing out tis talons to catch him. Taking a move from a friend he'd left behind, Toshiro let his Keyblade hover beside him and block the attack by willpower as he came to a stop in the air and held out his katana before him, the second blade vanishing through the air.

Giant pillars of ice rose from the ground, the Heartless looking around curiously at this new development, unsure what its purpose was. He followed one as they began to circle around him, able to go completely around as his head was not fully connected to his body. It looked odd, but Toshiro didn't have the luxury to cringe at it, just focused on making sure this monster was trapped.

" _Sennen Hyoro._ " His tone was firm as he twisted the blade in his hand, the pillars moving inwards towards the baffled Heartless.

But now it realized what the intent of the pillars was and snarled angrily, setting its head back correctly and turning to slam its tail into the approaching obstacles.

"Your tail is still frozen." Toshiro reminded it. "Or rather, I froze it again with my Keyblade once your fire went out."

Sure enough, ice once more encased the beast's tail, the Keyblade Frozen Heavens embedded at the base. Job done, it vanished in a flash of light as the pillars closed in on their prisoner, the dinosaur giving out one last furious roar before the sounds of ice crashing together smothered it, hopefully for good.

Toshiro did not relax yet, extending his senses to make sure the feeling of darkness was gone, that the Heartless had been defeated. He would wait until he was absolutely sure it had vanished from this world. Eyes narrowed as he got no sign of such victory.

Then, a bright blue light within the ice prison, which broke as the light engulfed it and spread out in a small but harmless burst. Specks of that light floated up into the air, almost soothing compared to the horror it had once come from. It was only at that sign did Toshiro release a breath of air and realize how much that battle of fire had taken out of him.

"Good to see my ice can still beat some fires at least…" He sighed in exhaustion. He turned back towards the ship, able to see it from where he stood in the sky. The waters were calming down and the sky clearing as he released his hold of the weather. For a moment he thought he saw the ship getting closer, but with the temperature quickly rising back to summer island levels, he felt perhaps it was his eyes just messing with him.

On said ship, the crew still outside watching heard a rustle of feathers and turned to see Dextra in full eagle form ready to take off.

"Where do you think you're going?" Law stood in her way, hand on a wing to prevent her going anywhere but not firm enough to hurt.

"To help him, he's gotta be all kinds of hurt after that fight." She argued just as firmly.

"Come on, Dextra, did you see all that? He's probably more than fine!" Shachi looked less than willing to have the boy back.

"He fought that thing so we could get out safely, you just going to let him die after that?" The female twin ruffled her feathers in angry determination at her fellow crew member.

No one responded to that.

"Then be quick." Law surprised them as he let her go and stepped aside. Sparing a happy glance his way, Dextra didn't wait another moment to take to the sky in a powerful flap of wings back to the island.

"But Captain, with a power like that, he could take us out with one swipe of that crazy blade of his. He controls the whole ocean!" One man attempted to argue.

"He could be dangerous." Jean Bart agreed.

"And yet he saved us instead and fought that thing alone. There's more to his story, more than even I know it seems…after this, he may have no choice but to tell us." Law responded. "For now we still have an agreement, one I intend to keep if he does, and until the conditions are met that makes him an ally. We don't abandon allies, do we?"

"No sir, Captain." Many replied.

"Good. If he's in bad shape, we let him rest and explain in his own time, watch your mouths in the meantime. I won't have any of you disrespecting someone who risked their life for ours."

They all agreed this time, trusting their Captain, and went inside to wait until Dextra returned with Toshiro to submerge and wait. They still had to linger until the Log Pose was ready to move on, and thankfully with a submarine it was easy enough to do so and avoid any incoming sailors, be it rival pirates or Marines.

Toshiro was just about to head down to the ground to scout for a place to hide, as he was sure he would need to find a new ride, when a ruffle of feathers caught his attention, a familiar presence approaching. Turning back to the ocean once more, a giant bird heading his way made him raise a brow, before he remembered one of the young pirates had an ability to become such a creature through the odd Devil Fruits. Dextra came to hover next to him in the sky.

"Hey, you don't look too bad after all." She spoke up. Her ability to speak in that form surprised him a bit, but he'd seen so much traveling worlds it didn't show in his expression, he just accepted this new information quickly.

"I couldn't risk getting hit by that beast for sure, so no, I'm not injured. But I'm…very tired, ever since I became this way heat has a much higher toll on my system."

"What are you anyway, I've never seen someone use magic like that, or fly without wings. And what was that big dinosaur? And that weird sword you had?"

"I'm sure you're not the only one with lots of questions." Toshiro responded with a tired sigh.

"Definitely not, but I mostly came over to make sure you got back okay." She chirped.

"Back?" Now his surprise did become visible. He did not think the pirates would let him anywhere near after all of that.

"Of course, you've got a deal with Papa, right? And you saved us, so we can't just let you stay here and melt, we may be pirates but we're not ungrateful."

Toshiro thought this over for a moment. Law was still his best chance at fixing this mess, and now that Heartless were making themselves known…this group may already be in trouble thanks to him, so it was a little late now to leave them defenseless and blind to the dangers.

"Alright…and after this, I think it's time I let go of a few more secrets…if things are already progressing this way, it may be the only way you can survive."

"That sounds foreboding…" Dextra put her head down since her beak didn't allow for frowning.

"It's going to sound worse soon…"

He left it there and seemed to leap across the sky as Dextra flew back next to him, returning to the ship promptly. She returned to a human form and they followed a waiting Law into the ship where they then submerged just enough under the waves to not be spotted, but not too stuffy for their guest. Everyone gathered themselves into the control room so that those working the ship may be a part of this improvised briefing as well.

"As you've probably guessed, I'm not human." Toshiro started, standing firm under their hard and suspicious gazes. "I'm the furthest you could be from one without being an outright monster like the creature you just saw."

"I dunno, fighting that thing head to head puts you pretty close, don't it?" Volpe questioned sternly.

"I fight it because I have enough of myself left to not allow it to follow its instincts and devour every heart on this world. That creature is known as a Heartless, it is a shadow of something that may have once been human, or perhaps it's form suggests an ancient spirit of this world corrupted into a ravenous hollow beast of its former self. Whatever it may have been, it was now lost and had to be stopped. A Heartless will consume anything with a heart, and I don't necessarily mean the physical heart, but perhaps the soul of one. Because once a Heartless devours enough life on a world, they will eventually devour the heart of the world itself. That is something I could never allow."

"Okay, so where did this Heartless come from? I've never seen that symbol on its chest before, I'm guessing they all have that?"

"The majority, yes, but there are some called pure Heartless that look like living shadows and they don't have a mark, but easy to recognize all the same. The yellow eyes are another indicator." Toshiro explained. "As to why you've never seen them…they must have never known this world existed, perhaps the powers of this world even held them at bay…but my coming here may have tipped the scales and put a target down…for that, I am truly sorry, and I will do my best to stop them."

"What makes you a target then? What are you?" Shachi questioned.

Toshiro took a deep breath and once more explained his existence, that he was a warrior of the dead, hence his inhuman powers, further split from mortality as a Nobody. The darkness he fought was attempting to erase the last of himself so that he would be truly nothing, even more of a husk of who he was than a Heartless, and his deal with Law was to find his other half, which he made sure to explain he could still command, and return them to his true self, return him whole. The ice dragon he spoke of before was not a mentor, but a part of himself and a dear companion, now a shadow and unlike himself. He expanded on the questions about him being a target as he told them of how he became this way, tricked by a powerful foe of the darkness trying to obtain his power and control him, a foe that may be dead but had a hunch was not yet finished…

"Damn, this is some messed up shit." Penguin scratched his head. "Heartless, Nobodies, other worlds, crazy organizations stealing hearts, Soul Reapers, this is straight out of a book of horrors."

"You're telling me, I'm not too fond of getting eaten by a shadow." Shachi gulped.

"I wouldn't allow that, though I ask you refrain from trying to fight them." Toshiro spoke up. When he got multiple looks of irritation, he continued. "Heartless are not affected by normal weaponry and attacks. You have to have a certain…let's say power of the heart to hurt them. They are shadows, and Nobodies not meant to exist, so destroying them takes some extra power most humans don't possess. There may be exceptions here, but just to be safe I would ask you let me handle them."

"Well what about your stuff then? That weird looking thing you had, and your katana."

"My katana is the manifestation of Hyorinmaru, my other half I mentioned, and is no ordinary blade. It's…less powerful now, but it still isn't a regular sword. As for my other weapon…" His left hand lit up in a bright light and he held the odd shaped weapon up for them to see, the dragon glinting brightly even in the submarine's pale lights. "This is a Keyblade. It may sound a little silly, but it is a very, very effective weapon against the Heartless and Nobodies. You could say it was made specifically to go against their kind, to unlock the soul within the shadow and return a Nobody back to existence, destroying the shells and allowing them to move on. This weapon is actually fairly new to me, compared to Hyorinmaru…I'm still trying to understand it. Sometimes it even seems to have a mind of its own, a guide almost, and very picky about who gets to wield it."

He handed it over to Heinrich, who looked surprised.

"Even if it was a constantly physical object, and you attempted to steal it, it would not let you. Even if I tried to give it up by choice." Toshiro explained, backing away from the confused child. Heinrich examined the odd weapon in his hand before attempting to make a swing to see how it felt. Before he could finish, it gave a flash and vanished from his hands, giving him quite the scare, and appeared once more in Toshiro's left hand. "I suppose it is one of those responsibilities you don't have a choice in…and my only hope against becoming like them…"

"I guess that's why you could throw it without having to worry about it." Law finally offered conversation, having been silent throughout the briefing as he knew most of what had been told.

"It makes it a very adaptable weapon to use, but it also makes you a target for Heartless. They are drawn to it…someone I knew thought perhaps it was because they wanted to be freed, though most agreed it was probably an instinct to take out what was most dangerous to them, as any animal with a base instinct would."

"Either way, they chase you wherever you go."

"Yes, they will."

"Anything else we should know?"

Toshiro looked hesitant to answer, but before he could speak, his mouth open to, the ship gave a sudden shake, startling them all.

"What's happening?" Law demanded, turning to his men on the controls.

"No idea, but I can't do anything, I'm locked out. We're surfacing!"

"Surfacing? On who's control?"

"I don't know…"

Toshiro had a bad feeling about this. Another shake went through the vessel to signal they were above water, the windows in the room flooding it with sunlight. The Heart Pirates looked concerned but had no hesitation grabbing weapons and moving out of the room. The Nobody followed, as he was sure this wasn't something they were prepared for. Another Heartless so soon? Or worse?

Moving quickly through the halls he, the Captain, and a few others found themselves on deck. The sea breeze kept off some of the heat of the nearby island, but nothing else was in sight to indicate what had forced them above water. Everyone remained tense and searching but could see nothing other than the empty desert island with its quickly melting ice structures and miles of surrounding ocean as far as they could see.

"What do you make of this?" Law questioned, turning to look at Toshiro. "You caught wind of the Heartless before it appeared, sense anything now?"

"No…no Heartless at least, but the air feels odd." The white-haired being responded.

Answering with a questioning hum, Law continued to look around for anything suspicious.

A bit of wind stirred and Dextra landed on one of the railings as an eagle, fairly menacing with a mean predatory glare and very sharp talons, her twin coming up next to her with an assortment of things on his belt Toshiro thought may be explosives, one of which he handed to Dextra. Seemed like they had a combo going on even with one able to become a bird. They waited with the rest of the crew for any sign of a threat.

Finally, the tension in the air finally snapped.

"I wasn't expecting you to find new friends, Hitsugaya Toshiro." A sinister female voice echoed through the air around them, giving some of the crew a fright, the following condescending laugh even more so.

"You…" Toshiro gasped, surprised. So the voice he heard from the forest over a week ago… he had been right to worry. He regretted ever letting his guard down. She was here, and now she was corrupting this world and letting loose Heartless.

A bright flash of green fire on the top of the ship brought everyone's attention there, spotting a gray skinned figure in a long black coat, horns atop her head. She sneered down at them all, specifically Toshiro himself.

"What an interesting world you've found, Hitsugaya, I quite like the power I feel here." She almost purred, as if praising a good student.

"Don't think I would let you lay a finger on this world, Maleficent, you and your Heartless are not welcome here. Ever." Toshiro snarled back, zanpaktou appearing in hand. She may use fire, but he could beat her, it's why she never fought with him herself he was sure of it.

"And why would you do that? You're not a Soul Reaper anymore, my young friend, why bother continuing this false quest to save the living from their fate?" The witch chuckled.

"Let's say it's more out of spite at this point, I would never forgive myself if I became like you."

"Such harsh words from someone just as likely to kill his friends as his enemies." Maleficent sneered. At Toshiro's shocked look she continued once more. "I learned quite a lot from your fight with that Nobody Organization, this Aizen fellow was an interesting study."

The pirates saw Toshiro bristle angrily at the name, a biting chill entering the air around them.

"To single-handedly fool an entire army of undead warriors of vast powers and knowledge, how impressive, but I don't think I would like to deal with another seeking to control the ultimate kingdom."

"You're right, he would take you out first chance he got." Toshiro shot back and Maleficent's sneer turned a bit sour. "Not himself of course, you wouldn't be worth his time."

"I would be if I had you under my wing." She responded maliciously.

"Keep dreaming." He scowled back.

"Well, where I come from, the phrase 'dreams do come true' is quite popular…so who knows."

"Even if you did manage to catch me to bargain with him, he would still kill you. Aizen doesn't have allies, everyone is a pawn and he sees himself as a god. You have no chance beating him."

"Even one such as he wouldn't have a choice if I alone controlled the Heavenly Guardian."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" One of the Heart Pirates finally spoke up. "Aizen? Controlling people? Some guardian? What in the world is going on?"

"Oh, keeping secrets, how dirty of you Hitsugaya." The dark fairy looked smug again, Toshiro narrowing his eyes at her, knowing what she was up to. She was a bit late for that, however…these pirates were in too deep at this point NOT to know. She had just decided to interrupt. "Now what would a group of pirates think knowing how absolutely valuable a person you are?"

"They know I'm being hunted." Toshiro responded back icily. "They knew as soon as your pile of bones came bursting out of that mountain."

"And such a lovely Heartless you destroyed, too." The pout was easily seen past; why should she care about creatures she could easily make more of? "But, do they know WHY you're being hunted?"

"You never did get to that." Shachi couldn't help but point out to their guest. Law hit the back of the man's knee with his sword and his fellow pirate stumbled, surprised.

"Playing mind games to turn us on him isn't as easy to do with us, miss." The surgeon spoke up. "You may think you have an advantage here with our world new to those outside, but you're sadly mistaken if you think anyone will go down without a fight. I know of your Heartless, and my particular abilities could make short work of them."

The witch looked intrigued by this and Toshiro almost turned to reprimand the Captain for shining a spotlight on himself like that. Almost.

"Now I see why he chose a group so different from his other friends." She purred. "Looking to 'cure' yourself, Hitsugaya? You should know that's no easy task, impossible even."

"Didn't one of your own subordinates free himself already?" The Nobody was quick to respond, feeling successful as anger flashed in her eyes. She wasn't beating him yet. "You're definitely not going to help, especially after all this talk of trading me off."

"There will come a time you have to choose a lesser of evils, Nobody of Hitsugaya Toshiro, and compared to your dear foe Aizen and Xehanort's forms, I think you will find you may have no choice but to come to me."

"No, I won't. Because once I'm whole again I'll take you all down."

"Will you now? And how will you do that when you don't even know what you're capable of?" The witch chuckled menacingly and green fire nipped at her cloak.

"Hey!" Toshiro flashed up to her position, but in an emerald flare she was gone, her laugh echoing in the air around them before disappearing along with her presence. "Damn…"


	13. He Who Must Not Be Named

The witch gone, they could return safely back to the ship and go below the waves, only hoping they could stay submerged until the log pose set and they could leave. Bepo kept a close eye on the device at his wrist for signs of change to signal they could go. For now they crowded the mess hall, filling up and taking in what all they had heard, a solemn looking Soul Reaper not touching his food. Partly because there were still so many questions to answer.

"Yo, are these crazy people we've been hearing about trying to _enslave_ you." Penguin questioned, and Toshiro was rather surprised at the contempt a pirate held for the word.

"…That's one way to put it." He said, reaching a hand up to his neck. "One almost did…"

Understanding the hand gesture for what it was they all shared concerned looks.

"So you some kind of escaped noble or rare power they want?"

"The second would be more appropriate, I'm no noble. I grew up in the slums of the Soul Society and only got to where I did through a lot of work and sacrifice. The power she kept talking about, the one they want me for…while they have been looking into it for generations to control something, I learned about my being the key to doing so barely a month ago. So…she does have a point. Only they know what I can really do with that power." His teal eyes cast a harsh glare to the ocean out the window. "Doesn't mean I'm going to let THEM tell me how to use it, that's for damn sure."

"That's a good spirit to have." Jean Bart put in his word. It was the first Toshiro had really interacted with the man, the giant seeming to prefer keeping to himself. "I once was a slave, it takes its toll on you, forced into that position. The Captain got me out during the chaos of a big fight, I could never hope to repay him."

"At least mine came off quick…" Toshiro sighed. At least now he understood why they had a problem with it. Funny how the last pirates he fought made him think the worst of people, but these pirates…at least these pirates have the morals of a decent human being, stealing and killing could be sinned, but even there these people were not the type to do so to every person they met. They reasoned, bartered, acted like people unless the time came to be rough. He could respect that.

"Hang on, are those scratches?" Penguin pointed out as he brought the Nobody from his musing, noticing the off color lines on the boy's neck. "Did you- "

"I'd rather not talk about it." The cold response shut the pirate up quick. "All you need to know was my collar forced me to do things against my will that I was not going to allow."

They all got silent then, a tense silence as those words sunk in. Jean Bart especially felt empathetic. His enslavement was still years of humiliating torture, that bomb collar always a threat hanging overhead, but even he never thought of trying to do what Toshiro was suggesting. What did they try to make him do? Undead or not, and doubtless three or four times his own age, Jean Bart couldn't believe the boy had been pushed to that level. In fact, now that he DID know more about Toshiro and his military past, the stakes must have been very high indeed for such action.

The silence was broken, to their relief, by Daniel hurrying over with eager questions of his own.

"I wanna see your magic!" The youngest child demanded.

"Magic?" A few pirates questioned, baffled at Daniel's words.

"He shot lightning at it! And big glowing chains! And he put us in a big blue barrier to protect us!"

"Nonsense his power is ice." Someone tried to argue.

"Where I come from that doesn't necessarily mean that's all I'm capable of." Toshiro responded. "He's referring to my Kido. I suppose to others it would be called magic. It takes a lot of energy and focus and is impossible for just humans to do, but it has a wide variety of uses. The destruction forms alone have multiple attacks, from ice like my own, to lightning, even fire, as well as other skills. There's also binding types which range from barriers and bindings to even communication and warning. The last is healing kido."

"Healing magic?" Law was into the conversation now and everyone was listening quite intensely.

"I'm not a master at it, there's a squad dedicated to it far better than I am, but I can patch myself and others up when necessary to avoid death."

"Aren't you already dead?"

"Just because I'm a spirit doesn't mean I can't die, but my soul would return to the cycle of souls to be reborn, though I would never remember my old self, I'd be someone entirely new. So in a way, dying as a spirit ends the time of that soul to make way for a brand new one. It's…complicated, honestly."

"I'll say…"

"I wanna see the magic!" Daniel cut in once more, not about to have his request ignored.

"Most of them aren't really safe indoors." Toshiro responded as nicely as he could.

"How about the ones that are? I got a scratch running from the dinosaur, can the healing magic fix it?" The stubborn young child held his arm out. There was a Band-Aid on it, obviously Law had already seen to it, but the boy just took it off. It was indeed a small scratch, already scabbed up, so the little sticky bandage might have been to make him feel better. Law still gave a roll of his eyes, but there was no stopping Daniel.

Preferring a sigh as a surrender to the stubbornness, Toshiro turned himself to face the boy and put his hand over the tiny wound. As they all watched, a green glow enveloped his hand, smoothing over the little scrape, healing up the skin and removing the scab. It only took a minute or so and all that remained was an almost unnoticeable pale line from where the skin had been forced to heal quickly.

"Wow, that's impressive." Shachi gaped.

"You should see the Squad four healers at work." The Nobody wasn't sure he was comfortable with the praise for a skill he'd only learned the basics of to aid him in a fight. Yes, he'd made sure to be proficient at Kido, it was one of the skills that helped him jump straight to the top in a matter of years instead of the decades it took others, but he never counted himself among the masters when he still relied on sword skill more than 'magic'. When a Kido master drew their sword, it meant their opponent was fierce indeed to adapt to their Kido prowess and fight them on even ground. He could not compete with that.

"That won't work to cure you?" Law questioned curiously, again dragging the small figure from his memories.

"I can't exactly heal what's not there." Toshiro sighed in response.

"And you think you can, Captain?" Penguin turned to the stoic doctor.

"For now it's a theory, but the unique circumstances of a Nobody and Heartless along with my ability to manipulate such things as a heart makes it a possibility. But that's all it is at the moment."

"I doubt putting him back together is as easy as pulling out a heart though." One of the other pirates scratched their head.

"So far the most challenging operation has been that crazy Straw Hat almost getting fried, and he wasn't split in two."

"Straw Hat was indeed a tricky surgery, but not impossible, I wouldn't have risked going straight into the crazy war otherwise." Law responded

"What?" Toshiro tilted his head slightly, ignorant of the events being talk about. He remembered a Straw Hat being mentioned, a rival crew as of now allied together against the insanity in the New World, but this war and said Captain having to be saved by Law was new information to him.

"Basically a big name pirate was about to get publicly executed, and not only was he part of the infamous Whitebeard's crew, who never abandons anyone under him, he was Straw Hat's brother. Between the huge force under Whitebeard and a crazy collection of people Straw Hat broke out of the best prison in the world they started a war with the Marines to try and save Ace, the guy being executed." Penguin explained.

"Sadly it didn't work, and not only did Whitebeard get beat and had his powers stolen by that dirt bag Blackbeard like we mentioned a few weeks back, but Straw Hat got seriously charred by one of the Admirals with his lava power. Captain kept him alive but oh man that kid was never the same." Shachi finished.

"I can hardly blame him, going through all that to save a loved one and failing." Toshiro sighed. "Sounds like a friend I know, though. And if he's anything like that one, I'll bet he's never been stronger."

"Not to mention even more hard-headed." Law scoffed and a few of his men chuckled.

"Captain wanted to break the alliance some time ago once he got what he wanted from them, but Straw Hat refused and now we're just kinda stuck with them." Volpe whispered with a snicker to the Nobody.

"They're still useful, Straw Hat-ya has an uncanny luck to make it through anything." Law defended. "I plan to ride on that luck until the end and then fight him fair and square for the One Piece."

"But Papa, I thought you and Luffy were frie-" Dextra was cut off as Law quickly covered her mouth with his hand, a scowl on his face.

"I can barely call him an ally half the time he's beyond irritating and irrational." The surgeon huffed.

"Isn't that just cause he hijacked your plan on Dressrosa and made it come out even better?" Another man poked, testing their luck.

A seething glare and they all shut up, though not without some smirking and stifled laughter. Toshiro recognized the pirate's attitude, not about to sound like he had friends or show any attachment. He himself had done that too often, it was a long time before he felt comfortable with this companions to call them friends, and even with the mess he was in…he was more than grateful for them. His expression fell a bit as he remembered that he'd abandoned these so called friends out of his own fear. He wouldn't blame them if they no longer trusted him…

"So how powerful is this goth lady?" The trainer, Volpe, got his attention.

"Fairly powerful. Beside her ability to summon Heartless to her and command them, she has some powerful fire and other magic, and I heard she can turn into a dragon."

"Not the worst we've heard of, but the summoning part would be hard to deal with."

"She can also be fairly convincing, she's lured many into the darkness to become her Heartless and works with many a villain to consume the worlds in darkness."

"Okay yeah she sounds kinda bad, no one we know is so powerful to take down planets…"

"It's not her, to be fair, but her Heartless, and she's always a little ahead of the game. She was defeated once even…but somehow came back, so getting rid of her isn't all that easy."

The pirates were looking increasingly concerned about the issue as he continued.

"I won't let her lay harm to this vessel or anyone on it, she's got a silver tongue but she also knows she can't beat me right now, I'm sure she's adjusting to this place like I am and can't make any more big moves after that Heartless we saw, the most she has right now is talking." Toshiro promised to them all.

"Hope you're right, we've got plenty of problems already."

The conversation fizzled out after that, but the tension remained as they waited for the signal to move on. They surfaced periodically for fresh air, thankfully catching no other signs of boats, only the still smoking remains of the desert town. Toshiro was always watching when they breached, his small frame standing lightly atop the mast, trying to avoid looking at the ruined island, avoid thinking about how many lost their lives to feed the power of that monster he'd had to fight. As powerful as the people of this world were, normal human beings…they wouldn't have had a chance against Maleficent.

Finally, their anthromorphic navigator gave word that the log pose had changed and they had a new course. Relieved to be moving on after half a day of waiting and watching restlessly, the yellow submarine made to leave quickly. Since nothing could be salvaged after the Heartless spewed lava over the area, they had to find a new place quickly before their supplies ran out. They were no stranger to destroyed towns and villages, and definitely not to death, but seeing the obliterated town and knowing something…otherworldly had done that. Well, it set them all on edge seeing it. This wasn't a pirate raid, they could fight that, this was something much bigger than them. For once they felt bad for the people lost.

Even with the island now shrinking on the horizon behind them, that tension and worry didn't dissipate completely…and Toshiro could hardly blame them. They acted aloof enough about what he was, but he was no stranger to their behavior, how they began to avoid him, eye him warily, speak a lot more carefully than before. A few truly didn't seem to mind and were the same as always, alert around him but otherwise friendly, same as when they thought he was a child with wild powers. He still tried to keep to himself to avoid any bothersome interactions with them. They were essentially stuck with him now, but he wasn't surprised that they acted as if they wanted nothing more than him off their ship.

One of the few that weren't tip-toeing around him, however, decided he would push a little further about their guest. A curious Puffin found the small figure outside enjoying the wind as they sailed, balancing rather easily on the railing of the deck. Toshiro turned to look at the nurse briefly to show he knew he was there before turning back to the ocean in front of them. Law was as usual when surfaced laying against Bepo as the bear also enjoyed the air and held onto his maps, preferring to do his job outside for now while providing his Captain a pillow. The small twins were outside as well, tinkering with some new items with Shachi and Penguin, Daniel just watching curiously from the side. They would all be witness as Puffin's curiosity unfolded something preferably left unknown.

"So, uh, that witch lady mentioned someone that sounded really dangerous. Who's Aizen?" The young man questioned with an innocent tone. He simply wanted to know about this stranger that singlehandedly fooled an army of undead warriors.

A sharp chill tore through the air that sent a sudden shock through all those on deck, causing heads to turn towards the white-haired figure on the railing. Toshiro hadn't physically moved, but the air felt so suddenly cold they could FEEL that anger triggered by that name, shown in the pitch black frost running over the railing beneath the figure as well. Law recognized the feeling from when he'd asked about Aizen before, though since he'd never known the name at the time, had spoken of him distantly with Toshiro days back, it hadn't been so…harsh a reaction. Since Maleficent had spoken of him he'd correlated this Aizen to the man that had caused Toshiro so much pain before and watched warily as Puffin nervously waited for a response.

"Is-Is he going to come here too? It sounded like he was pretty strong, and she kept throwing his name at you, like you'd dealt with him before. Who is he?" The nurse tried again.

"Someone you better hope you never meet." The Nobody's tone was icy, harsh…very much a warning to stop now. "He's dangerous, clever…"

"Damn you sound like he stole your girl or something." Shachi couldn't help but snicker off to the side, trying to maybe lighten the mood for those near him. He only hoped it was just the kids and his friend who had heard him.

But Toshiro heard him too and did not appreciate the snark. Almost reflexively his hand swung back and ice raced across the deck, black spikes stopping moments before it reached the one who spoke. No harm was done, but Shachi couldn't say the same for his clothes, shaking on the ground as menacing icicles remained inches from his body. It had happened so fast, the engineer could only think of how he could have already been dead, his thoughts a mess as he tried to recollect himself enough to know he was indeed just fine.

"You better stop this now." Law scowled, on his feet and hand on his blade. Toshiro could forget the agreement if he was going to threaten his crew, dangerous Death God or not. He wasn't sure what would spark such a reaction but he sure as hell wasn't going to let it slide.

"Then never mention that name to me again." Toshiro's response was equally demanding, teal eyes turning back with a sharp glare, threatening pain to anyone who tried to ask him about Aizen again. "Of all the people that seem to be after me, you better hope it's not his face you see next, because if he was to escape, then no matter how much I want to tear him to pieces for what he's done there would be no hope for this world."

"Sh-shit, man, what DID he do?" Penguin asked, more out of fear from Toshiro's reaction than actual curiosity. "Shachi just made a joke…"

There was no response to this, just a scoff and then the small figure disappeared from sight. Where…they honestly weren't sure, as once the ice was removed and everyone returned inside to escape the sudden cold outside, they could not find him again. Dextra, ever helpful for her Papa, was all over the ship trying to catch him, but he was very good at avoiding her, until his presence became hidden altogether, just like when they'd first found him on the island. At least Law knew he was on the ship, so he had Dextra cease her search. They were submerged before the Nobody hid himself so completely, he couldn't go anywhere else now.

"He'll return when he's cleared his head, I'll confront him about what happened then." He told her when she argued. "Forget about Aizen for now, that's obviously not a topic he wants us to know about, all I care about is that he knows not to threaten my men like that again."

"Didn't you see the shadows, Papa?" The eagle girl questioned, less combative this time. When her Captain raised a brow she continued. "I think he remembered something really bad, the shadows came out for a moment after that, that's why the ice was black. When he's himself it's dark blue, remember?"

"Sharp eyes as ever, Dextra." Law looked impressed. "No, I didn't see that, was a little more worried about Shachi…"

"I was too…that was really scary, but I don't think he meant it. Aizen must have done something really horrible to him…like Doflamingo did to me, Papa."

Law frowned at the thought. Thinking of what Doflamingo had done to his little girl made HIM upset, if it was anything like that he could sympathize with Toshiro, but that didn't mean he'd let the Nobody off the hook for almost spearing one of his best engineers. What kind of Captain would he be if he let some mysterious guest get away with almost murdering one of his own crew, and a close friend at that… Toshiro may be powerful, but he had to understand who was boss on this ship, and that he couldn't just do as he pleased without consequences.

"He'll come back when he's ready, so let's leave him be for now." And that was the end of that.

It stayed that way until it was just about time for everyone to head to bed, things quieting down in the galley, card games finishing up, dishes being finished, yawns going around. The door opened, ignored at first until silence settled in, curious stares going around at the odd silence only to join in at who walked in.

Toshiro walked with purpose straight to Shachi, the engineer looking confused and a little nervous. The smaller figured refused to look up at first, before with a heavy sigh he bowed to the pirate, Shachi's brows rising up in surprise.

"I'm sorry for earlier today." Toshiro said to him. "It was…out of my control, but cannot be excused. Please forgive me."

At his own table looking over stock papers, Law watched approvingly. It would seem he didn't need to say anything to the Nobody…he still would, but good to see their guest wasn't so prideful as to act like he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Uh…yeah, I guess. I mean, I didn't die." Shachi finally replied, scratching at his head. "I guess I'm sorry too for pissing you off in the first place. Glad we're on the same side, yeah?" He laughed nervously.

Toshiro stood back up and gave a tiny little nod, glad to have that over with. He'd acted out of hand, he knew that, so even if the pirate had said something insensitive, he should have been better about controlling his powers. Hence, he knew an apology was necessary on his part.

"Let's just forgive and forget." Shachi held his hand out for a shake. Toshiro looked at his hand oddly. "What, never done a handshake before?"

"I've been to enough places I know what it is, it's just not usual where I'm from." The Ice Nobody shot back, taking his hand for a firm shake, then let go.

"What weird things do your people do?"

"Bow."

"Sounds lame." Penguin laughed.

"It's professional."

"So's a handshake if you do it right."

Toshiro just rolled his eyes and let it go, they were being rowdy men after all, no point arguing mannerisms with them. He'd done what he wanted to do and turned to leave once more, the galley filling back up with idle chatter. There were some jabs at his 'retreat' but he just shrugged back and left, and let him leave they did, some curious comrades asking the engineer what that was all about and laughing at the tale. Things seemed to be smoothed over now, Law could live with that.

* * *

 **SO yeah, from now on i'm hoping to do two updates a week until I catch up to what I have. I know one or two of you have requests, but once again I will remind you I have already written a LOT of this so there's not much that can or will change just because someone asks. I already have the course for this story planned out, so please tuck your hands and feet inside the vehicle and enjoy the ride.**


	14. Sickness and Struggle

It took a few more days to reach the next island, but the relief at finally seeing it made them all excited. At that point their food was really getting low, and they were tired of soup stock for their three meals, not to mention they were bored and were eager to find something to do once on land. They may have been pirates, but the sea only had so much for them, since they could just hide under the waves from passing Marines, so every now and then they welcomed solid ground. Toshiro was just glad to have an extended period of fresh air, keeping the air cool underwater was taxing.

Upon landing, though, they weren't met by too pretty a sight. The city was at least inhabited and alive, meaning they at least didn't have Heartless to worry about, not to mention huge so supplies would hopefully be easy to get…but the people living there looked so…gloomy. The whole island had a stale, polluted air to it, the great spire of the main city in the distance looming and dark. The civilization looked fairly urban and modern, but where they had docked…they must have found the slums part, but Law agreed trying to head to the 'nicer' dock a mile or two down the coast risked being spotted by Marines who would no doubt prefer that spot as well. The Heart Pirates didn't look uncomfortable with the decision…just the people.

"The air feels sick." Dextra said as she remained on deck, scrunching up her nose. Her twin nodded firmly in agreement.

"It does…but I suppose that's to be expected when you live in the part of town everyone pretends doesn't exist." Toshiro added to her statement, looking disapprovingly at the great city just within an hour or two of walking distance, no doubt full of splendor and life, leaving the people here crawling for scraps. Abandoned and ignored. No matter how modern, the slums never changed.

"People never change, huh…" Thursday sighed, patting Dextra and Book on the head as she passed to follow the others off the ship. Sharing a look between them, the twins followed behind her.

Toshiro stayed for a moment longer, surveying the place around them. Crumbling walls, graying pavement with dirt and grime caking it, visible paths through the muck from heavy traffic. Coughs echoed in the stale air though people tried to keep their faces covered from the dusty atmosphere. They acted as if the pirates weren't even there, even beggars avoiding them knowing this crowd would be unlikely to give them anything except knock them down. It was a sad sight for sure.

"I wouldn't go too far in this place." Law's voice brought Toshiro's attention from the land to the surgeon behind him. "I'm sure you could handle yourself, but I don't recommend letting someone get too touchy considering the conditions they live in…"

"Why would they get touchy?" The Nobody questioned.

The pirate Captain shrugged.

"Some people really want a child, they might think they're doing you a favor, taking you from pirates."

"…I suppose you have a point, and while I don't get sick easily considering my temperature, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good, otherwise you're free to look around like the rest of us."

"What do you plan to do?"

Law gave a sigh.

"Well…I WAS going to restock some of my supplies, but it would seem I'd have to take a hike for that…I'll be taking a few men with me deeper in, so keep an eye on them for me?"

Toshiro raised a brow in curiosity. He had just gone through a conversation with the surgeon the other day about his actions against Shachi, how his power had slipped from his control. He had clearly not been happy with the events and the Nobody was surprised the Captain would allow such a thing.

"You're trusting me?"

"Just keep your temper and I think it'll be fine." Law smirked as Toshiro cast him a glare before stepping off the ship.

Giving out a small huff, Toshiro let the jab slide and finally stepped off the ship as well. He kept his senses on alert for the others, letting him keep alert for potential Heartless as well. The polluted air felt stuffy and unforgiving, so he pulled his shirt up a little over his mouth. This really was terrible, at least the slums he'd lived in still had clean air. If his home had been industrial like this…his childhood had been lonely enough, watching everyone get sick around him would have made it even more depressing. And his grandma…he might not have even had one.

"I hate cities…" He muttered to himself.

A thud caught his attention and he turned to look, spotting a young boy picking himself up from some rubble. With a determined look, the boy stepped back in, pulling out what looked like scrap metal with a triumphant look. Toshiro spotted something underneath the child's brown curls, a bruise-like look to the skin of his forehead. Did he hit himself on something? Get hit maybe? It was a large patch of darkened skin, it had to be painful, but the boy didn't seem to mind it, more concentrated on dragging whatever he'd found off. Curious, Toshiro walked himself over.

"Do you need help?" He questioned.

The child gasped and dropped the scrap metal, wide brown eyes looking at the newcomer in surprise.

"Y-you scared me!" The boy let out a breath of air and put a hand to his chest, trying to calm his heart.

"Sorry, I just noticed you were having some trouble."

"Um, uh, it's fine, I got it." Nervous now, the child picked up his prize again and went back to dragging it away.

"Did you hit your head when you fell? That looks like a nasty bruise." Since being helpful wasn't working, Toshiro cut to the chase about his curiosity.

"What?" The boy put a hand up to his forehead. "Oh, no that…that's not a bruise…"

"It's not?"

"…you're not from here, are you?"

The Nobody shook his head.

"You…probably don't want to get too close then." More nervous than ever, the boy looked at the metal he had as if debating dropping it and running.

"Why?"

"It's, um, I'm sick. You'll get it too…so stay away, please."

"You do need help then." Toshiro started to approach, lifting a hand towards the child.

"N-no! It's fine, really, it doesn't hurt right now, g-go away please." Now the child did drop the scrap, turning and running with a fearful expression from the Nobody.

"Hey!" Toshiro thought of chasing, but felt he'd done enough. He obviously wanted no help; whatever that nasty looking sickness was, the boy didn't want anyone catching it. "Guess that means it's not just a feeling…this place really is sick…"

He returned to just roaming, noticing now that many people had these black, bruise-like splotches on their body, covering them up best they could, avoided by those without the illness like the plague itself. There were plenty of other kids searching through piles of rubble for scrap, the purpose unknown, and Toshiro was curious enough to consider following some of them to find out why.

Just as he turned to do just that, a voice made him pause.

"Hey Toshiro." Thursday walked over with Heinrich and Daniel. "You look like someone on a mission, what's up?"

"I'm curious about what these children are doing gathering scrap pieces." The Nobody responded calmly.

Curious, the trio followed his earlier gaze, spotting the same thing he had.

"Probably for a job or something, kids need money too." Heinrich shrugged, not as concerned about it. He and his fellow orphans had done similar odd jobs before they joined the Heart Pirates…not willingly, but it was the milder of tasks they'd been told to do.

"Several of them are sick as well, have you noticed the bruising on the people here?"

"Well, yeah…they're sick?"

"I spoke to one of the children trying to grab some metal, he had it on his forehead. He told me he was sick and didn't want me getting too close."

The older two shared glances, definitely intrigued now, while Daniel watched the children disappear around a corner, indeed noticing some more of the black patches on the arm of one of them.

"Want us to go with you?" Thursday asked, looking a little concerned.

"I'd prefer you didn't, I'm not as likely to get sick, but I won't stop you."

Nodding, Thursday turned to her companions.

"Take Daniel back to the ship? We'll find out what's up and be back in a bit." She told Heinrich. He didn't seem too happy with the idea, casting a look at Toshiro as if to say 'take care of her' before grabbing Daniel's hand and heading back to the submarine. That done, the older girl turned back to Toshiro. "So, off we go?"

Nodding, the Nobody followed after the path he'd seen the children take, following the recent drag marks of scrap metal until they could see the children themselves again.

"Not how I wanted our next island hang out to go, but might be interesting anyway." Thursday spoke quietly to her companion as they followed behind.

Toshiro cast her a confused glance before remembering his conversation with the children back at the desert island, promising to go explore with them if the next island wasn't a summer one. That felt so long ago now after everything that happened, he barely remembered it.

"I suppose so." He agreed. "Just be careful, even my healing Kido may not help much for something like this, it doesn't really work that way…"

"I won't get sick, it'll be fine." The taller child rolled her eyes, appearing aloof about their situation with a smirk, but Toshiro had doubts she was so carefree about all this.

Finally the children came to a stop in a small clearing filled with piles of various scrap. Adults were roaming around, offering money for bits and to have the children – usually the healthier looking ones – to carry it off for them. From what they overheard, this child run business seemed to be for helping people rebuild, an odd sort of rebellion against the main city abandoning them, choosing to fix things up themselves and get out of their situation. The specific group of kids they followed dropped off their prizes and were praised by a large man who greeted them happily and made sure they got some snacks and a break. The man didn't seem to have any of the dark patches, but he didn't avoid those who did.

"If the boss we had way back when was like him we'd have never become pirates…" Thursday muttered to herself. Toshiro did remember them mentioning an abusive boss Law had rescued them from, and thought he detected jealousy in her tone.

"They all live here, it's probably just a sense of needing to work together against the real boss." He responded to her, motioning with his head to the great city in the distance.

"Yeah…you have a point there."

Then, Toshiro spotted a familiar face. The boy he'd earlier found and had run away from him was among the children sitting off to the side, probably avoiding being front and center since his sickness was harder to hide. He still seemed so sad, even as the boy next to him tried to cheer him up.

Purpose in his steps, Toshiro made his way over to the boy, leaving a confused Thursday behind before she hurried up after him. A few people looked their way but otherwise they weren't noticed, just a few more children in the mix, Toshiro's white hair covered and making it easier for him to blend in, which he was glad to use to his advantage here. The boys didn't even take notice until he'd stopped in front of them, looking up curiously. The brown haired boy's eyes widened in recognition.

"Y-you again?" He gaped, shocked.

"Eh? Do you know him Dennis?" The blonde next to him questioned, raising a brow at the newcomers in curiosity.

"N-no, he, um…"

"We happened to cross each other on the street a few minutes ago." Toshiro explained for him.

"So you followed me?" Now the boy, Dennis, looked irritated.

"Not you specifically, some other children, you just happened to be here."

"We were curious about this sickness going around." Thursday cut in, letting them know she was there too. Toshiro nodded to show he agreed with her words. "Is no one able to do anything about it? What is it?"

"Oh, the Stigma." The blonde answered, looking a bit solemn. Dennis turned away, uncomfortable. "It popped up about a week or two ago and has been spreading like crazy. We keep getting promised that the best doctors in Midarin, the city over there, are working on it…but they're certainly not doing anything to help those who already have it. People die within two or four days of getting it, some even sooner."

Dennis gulped nervously at the last bit, hands clenching tightly to his pants at his knees, shaking. His friend put an arm over his shoulder apologetically. A sympathetic expression softened Toshiro's face as he saw this.

"Let me try something, but promise not to tell anyone." He spoke, stepping closer to Dennis.

"No!" Dennis backed away quickly.

"Whoa, hey, it's super contagious, you'll get it too." Dennis's friend stood and got between them at the boy's sudden panic, protecting him.

"I can't get sick." Toshiro sighed. "Now let me try something. If I can't fix it, then I'm sorry, but if I can, I may be able to do what the doctors are taking too long to find out."

"You sure?" Thursday questioned nervously.

Turning back to her, Toshiro nodded, giving her a look to tell her she should know why he would be fine. Her face lit up in understanding and she nodded.

"Well…leave him alone, he's been through enough. Try it on me." The blonde boy lifted up his shirt to reveal a dark patch of his own on his right side, blackened and bruised looking skin over his stomach. It definitely didn't look fun to have…

Toshiro reached a hand out but paused before actually doing anything.

"And you two promise not to tell?" Toshiro asked them, Thursday moving herself casually into a position where no one else could see her companion's hand.

"Yeah, sure." The blonde shrugged, Dennis behind him just nodding nervously.

Looking between them another moment more with a sharp gaze, making them nervous, Toshiro finally looked back to the bruised patch of diseased skin and held his hand just over it. Green light lit up on his palm and flowed lightly over the Stigma patch, surprising the boys. They watched the light as Toshiro concentrated, trying to see if he could get rid of this sickness. If he could, the island would have hope.

But their hopes were dashed as the skin seemed to darken further and the boy let out a sharp cry of pain, doubling over as Toshiro pulled his hand back in surprise.

"…it didn't work?"

Thursday didn't think but just caught the boy before he fell, helping him sit down and rubbing his back until the pain passed. Dennis was on his feet, looking concerned for his friend and angry at Toshiro.

"What kind of fruit power was that, you trying to poison him?" He spat.

"It was supposed to heal, but this thing may be worse than we thought." Thursday defended the Nobody. "My Papa is a doctor, he might be able to think of something if we have time, we won't leave this unfinished."

"Thursday, you shouldn't be touching him." Toshiro warned.

"But-" She attempted to argue.

"He's…right." The blonde boy panted. "I'm…I'm okay now, it's going away. Happens…all the time. It's…it's pretty nasty…"

"Kyle, you sure?" Dennis knelt by his friend.

"Yeah, just another attack…like usual…guess it didn't like trying to be healed…"

"I'm sorry…" Toshiro lowered his head, meaning his words. He had hoped to help at least a few people here. This Stigma…he hadn't been sure if Healing Kido would work, but for it to have the opposite effect…there was something wrong with this disease.

Thursday stood and backed away from the child, letting Dennis help his friend. They were both sick, they held no concerns, but both Thursday and Toshiro knew they were just waiting to die…

"C'mon, let's go get Papa, I bet he can do something." Thursday told her companion, turning to head back to the ship.

Toshiro cast one more glance at the two boys.

"We'll probably still be here." Kyle said in response to the look, the 'probably' not implying anything good.

Simply giving a nod, Toshiro followed Thursday this time as they headed back to the sub, hoping Law would be back from his trip soon.

The Nobody stalled behind a bit, the taller girl off in a hurry and not noticing her companion had fallen behind until she was out of his sight. He was increasingly uncomfortable here, seeing the people suffering, knowing he couldn't help them, and that…he didn't feel as bad as he thought he should. These souls were unfairly abandoned to this plague, but while sympathetic for them, he still felt he could leave and not feel all that bad, whereas Thursday was now invested in getting them help.

"I spent so much time trying NOT to feel, to be the strong Captain everyone wanted…" He muttered to himself, reaching up for the snowflake he'd made as a necklace to keep an eye on his control, the dark ice fortunately still holding a blue tone for now. "But now…now that I'm being forced to lose my emotions the longer I'm like this…I've never wanted to have those feelings back more than I do now…"

He couldn't even shed a tear at his situation anymore, not at the moment at least, what little memory of emotion he had focused on his worry for the people here. That's right, they needed help, and him moping about his existence wasn't going to solve it. Quickening his pace, Toshiro hurried to reach the ship again.

As it turned out, Law was already back. And he wasn't happy.

* * *

 **Happy Labor Day**


	15. Mystery of the Sickness

Shachi and Penguin were there to greet him when he finally came back, and their spooked expressions didn't bode well.

"I thought you went with Trafalgar to the city for supplies?" The Nobody asked them. They gave a start at his voice, having not been paying attention, but turned to him rapidly as if he was their only hope. It made Toshiro a bit nervous.

"Well, uh, we couldn't get in for some reason, didn't hear why but Captain got really mad. Say, what happened to Thursday?"

"…what?"

"She got back and was all out of breath and trying to explain something to Captain, then she just collapsed. You were watching out, right, what happened?"

Teal eyes widening in shock, Toshiro didn't answer, instead ran past and ignored their shouts as he hurried inside. Could this plague really spread so fast? This wasn't good, and if she didn't get time to explain, he needed to make sure Law knew what was happening.

Sure enough they were in the infirmary, Thursday already looking paler than when he'd last seen her just minutes ago but awake. Law turned towards him with a scowl as he entered.

"What the hell happened?" He demanded, Toshiro tensing at the harsh tone, understanding he was being blamed.

"Papa…not his fault." Thursday wheezed out, clearly still very tired. "Stigma…"

"What's this stigma?"

Seeing as she was in no shape to keep talking, Toshiro stepped forward to explain.

"The people on this island are suffering from something they're just calling Stigma, it's highly contagious, more so than even I thought…I was looking into it and she went with me, one of the children we were speaking to I tried to heal, but it didn't work, and she went to help him. All she did was touch him for a few moments…I didn't think it would be so quick to spread."

"How long ago was this?"

"Not even an hour ago. The characteristic of this Stigma seems to be patches of black, like a bruise, and it seems to cause occasional attacks. When I tried to heal one of the children it started one such attack instead…I'm not sure what it is."

Law seemed tense about the topic as he got more information, almost as if remembering something unpleasant. He looked her over carefully for any dark splotches like Toshiro had described, but it seemed all she had for now was a high fever and fatigue. The silence stretched on until Law had done all he could for now, taking a blood draw at the end so he could perhaps see what this contagion was, donning a mask as he should just to be careful.

"You seem fine." Law finally said something, Thursday dozing off again for now with her Papa watching over her.

"I can't get sick." The Nobody responded. "It was hard before with my lower body temperature, only persistent illnesses could get me, but I believe with the way I am now it's not possible at all anymore."

"I suppose you have a point, with no heart there's no circulation, so nothing can move through your body."

"Correct. Though…it's odd, Nobodies can still bleed…not quite sure how we work, I guess it's just the unfortunate life of not really existing."

"I could probably find out, but I doubt you want me to." Law spared a glance at his guest before returning to his work.

"Not really…I just don't want to be this way at all anymore." Toshiro answered, though part of him did wonder… maybe he should let Law find out, if only for the sake of figuring out a 'cure' so to speak. It was better than letting Kurotsuchi get hands on him.

"I'm still looking into it, but for now I would like to figure out what this disease is."

"I understand. Oh, but…" Toshiro shuffled nervously and the surgeon turned back to look at him, raising a brow. "The boys we spoke to…they said people die within two to four days of contracting the disease."

Law looked angrier than he already did, cursing loudly and returning to his research with a heavy weight on his shoulders. Two to four days… he needed to work fast.

"Tell everyone to remain out of the infirmary. If anyone feels even slightly sick they need to come see me, and not to touch anyone on the island. Once they know, since you don't get sick, see what you can figure out that would help." The surgeon demanded.

Though part of him didn't appreciate the orders, he knew this was not the time for pride, anything but that really. Feeling guilt for being the one to allow this, Toshiro simply responded with an affirmative and headed out. He had to help fix this. Though no expert at illnesses and cures, he could at least find out the cause and signs, maybe even what some do to stave off the Stigma for more time. There had to be something… a reason for its existence here.

Once all the Heart Pirates knew the new quarantine rules, worry for Thursday going around the ship, Toshiro was off to seek answers. He denied Heinrich's wishes to go with, not wanting another of the orphans sick on his watch, and darted off before any argument could be made.

"Only appeared a couple weeks ago…" He muttered to himself as he jumped easily across rooftops. "And if it kills in just a few days… there would be no one alive who would have been around to know where it came from… damn."

His only choice was to find those victims, to see if there was any indication of what gave them this killer plague. If he could find the very first victim, even, it may provide some insight.

When looking from above gave no hopeful answers, he went below, examining recently passed and grimacing at the terrible conditions they had to die in. The black patches looked more like acid burns, sinking into the skin in an inky black mass of dissolved flesh, open and oozing, bones visible in some, bodies mangled as the plague seemed to decompose the victims quickly. This gave him little hope to find patient zero of the Stigma, it would seem there would hardly be anything left at this point.

Leaving the dead be, as only horror and bad news could be gleaned from them, he went to the living instead. It was getting dark out by this point, people hiding away in dull houses or hidden corners, no one wanting to deal with him. The sick were scared to go near anyone, abused and scoffed at, not wanting to drag a 'child' into their misery, whereas the living just didn't want to talk to pirates, having seen him with the Heart Pirates by now and trying to avoid any trouble.

Overall the day was overwhelmingly unsuccessful, the start of the night going no better as it got even harder to find people. He gave up and returned to the ship with a solemn expression. There was no way he could tell Law that all he learned was the state Thursday would be in if they didn't save her. Gritting his teeth, he pivoted on his feet just before reaching the submarine and went back into the town. He couldn't give up yet, not with that. Standing on deck, Dextra watched him leave again, determination in his expression. She appreciated him trying so hard to help, she just wished she could go as well. Law had forbidden it.

Instead, she went back inside, as it was dinner time and their cook would scold her if she missed a meal again. The galley was depressingly quiet, even though they had actual food to eat again. The feeling of worry and paranoia in the air made Dextra shudder as she got her plate of pork chop and potatoes. Sitting next to her siblings, she noticed Heinrich was the most put out, pushing his potatoes around on his plate and looking ready to cry. She thought she noticed something else off, curious but not wanting to push him when stress was radiating off him in waves, just silently observing.

"Thursday's gonna be okay…right?" Daniel asked with a sniffle.

"Don't worry, buddy, Captain's the best doctor ever, he'll figure it out." Penguin assured, him and Shachi also at the table with the children. "And our resident Soul Reaper is on the case."

"The only one, though, I'm guessing cause dead people don't get sick." Shachi added on. Book elbowed him for speaking so harshly of their guest. "What? That's why he's the only one going, right?"

"He's trying really hard too, I saw him." Dextra spoke up between some bites. "He was about to come back, but then he took off again. He didn't look happy though."

"Probably hasn't found anything then…" Heinrich sighed. He scratched absentmindedly at his arm.

"We'll just have to hope either he or the Captain get a breakthrough then." Penguin tried to seem confident, but there was no hiding his concern. "This will be over before we know it, just a crazy thing we can look back on and say that wasn't so bad."

"Yeah, Papa can cure anything with his power." Book agreed, head high. He would follow Penguin and try to keep everyone's spirits up.

"Heinrich, quit scratching, you better not have fleas." Dextra complained with a flat tone to the older boy next to her as she spotted him once more running his nails over his arm.

"I don't have fleas, Dextra, I'm just itchy." Heinrich rolled his eyes. "Haven't been feeling all that good honestly, been really worried."

"Can hardly blame you, this place was the worst place to dock… should have taken our chances at the other place." Shachi just nodded solemnly. "Now we're stuck here."

Puffin came over to the table, having been overhearing their conversation, and as a nurse to their Captain, felt he might as well see if Heinrich was alright with Law busy on more important things.

"You get a rash or something, Heinrich?" He asked, lifting up the boy's sleeve.

"Don't think so- "

"Oh shit!"

Everyone turned to look at the sound of Shachi's sudden yell, Heinrich and Puffin gaping at the small black patch now revealed on the young man's arm. It was still small and light, but with how things were on the island nothing could be risked, and everyone paled at the possibility.

"You… you got sick?" Penguin paled, looking at the patch in horror.

"But, I… I didn't know that person was sick! I just helped them pick something up!" Heinrich was terrified.

Puffin calmed himself and grabbed Heinrich's arm. He'd already touched the boy, so now both of them were heading straight to the infirmary before panic got out of hand. It was part of his job to keep cool in bad situations, he had to contain this quick.

"Keep away." He demanded as he and Heinrich rushed out of the galley. Everyone obeyed.

Once they left, the silence held thick over those left inside. Another one down, possibly two… would everyone be sick by the day's end? How were they supposed to deal with this? Marines and other pirates they could handle, fighting was easy, but this… everyone was paranoid and worried now, trying to make sure nobody else had touched Heinrich since he'd come back, seeing if anyone else had come into contact with a native of any sort that may have been hiding their own sickness.

Puffin entered the infirmary and was immediately met with a disapproving look from Law, but the surgeon didn't take long to notice the scared look on Heinrich.

"…you're joking." He scowled.

"Sorry, Captain." Puffin replied with a shake of his head to show no, he was not kidding. "He didn't know the person was sick."

"Papa, I'm-" Heinrich was usually the most confident, but this wasn't really something he could just punch at and laugh off anymore, so his tone was nervous.

"Over here." Law interrupted, pointing to another bed. He wasn't going to let the boy apologize for something beyond his control, not when the surgeon himself worried he wouldn't be able to fix it… that HE should be saying sorry. "Hitsugaya back yet?"

"No, Dextra said he almost came back, but then ran off again. He probably hadn't found anything yet." Puffin answered.

"I suppose it would be a miracle if he did, it's only been a few hours, and I doubt anyone here is willing to just tell him everything." Law sighed in resignation.

So far he hadn't found much either. It was definitely a virus, his examination of Thursday's blood sample had made that clear, but it was a far more intelligent virus than he had ever come across, avoiding any attempts he made to isolate and study it. The body was definitely putting up a fight, the high fever proved that, but it was as if the virus thrived off that fight and spread further. The sample he had taken was almost completely black in color. At this point he was just waiting for it to finish atrophying that way it was nothing but virus and easier to examine. He just had to be careful it didn't touch anything remotely biological.

"I guess since I'll be in here too, Captain, I can offer some help until it gets to me too." Puffin spoke up in the silence. "I don't mind doing anything where it might spread."

"You may not have it yet, I'd rather you still be careful. Apparently it reacts differently per person, Thursday got her fever and fatigue first, but no bruising until just now. Heinrich is showing the opposite." As the pirate Captain spoke he was checking the boy's temperature just to be sure. Not as high a fever as Thursday yet, he wondered why it was interacting differently. Heinrich looked over at Thursday with concern after Law mentioned she had just showed signs of the bruising. Sure enough, some small dark spots were beginning to surface on her neck, the tall girl sleeping restlessly with a worried expression.

"It's fast either way, the more help I can give before it shows up on me the better, right?" The nurse tried to reason.

Law just waved him off, a silent way of letting him do what he wanted as he was focused elsewhere. After all, Puffin had a point, since he was now assuredly infected, he'd be able to do what Law couldn't since the latter had to avoid physical contact, he was thankful it didn't seem airborne as he had felt no symptoms even during his time with Thursday. There was something about how it moved in the body that only allowed it to move victims with skin to skin contact, though he didn't even risk touching with gloves on to be sure.

With Puffin there to help the children be more comfortable and handle the virus samples better, the two worked well into the night even after the other went to sleep, if they slept. Bepo hung out on deck outside to wait for Toshiro, his concern for his crew mates rising as the hours ticked by. Sometime around two in the morning, the bear could stay awake no longer and thought to take a short nap. Toshiro still never came back to the ship.

Two others fell ill, but thankfully it wasn't the stigma as first feared, Law telling them they were getting too stressed. Their Captain looked hardly any better, dark circles under his eyes as he tended to have when working too long. He gave his crew something to keep them calm but took none himself as he wanted a clear mind to figure out this virus. Even with a second pair of eyes from Puffin and the now pure virus sample there was little he could gain. It wasn't a natural virus, it preyed on any biological material in contact with it, and no gloves did not prevent spread. Puffin's infection showed first on his hands, worsening the more he interacted with it until Law finally had to assign the nurse to a bed as well as his hands shook worse with each passing hour. The sun rose to another gray, dreary day and Law still had no idea what he could do to cure it. Any medicine he tried to introduce fell apart, the virus was extremely potent.

"It's like it has a mind of its own…" He growled to himself. He turned back to the three others in his infirmary. Heinrich had decided to move to Thursday's bed, hugging her tight, and he didn't argue. The boy had the patch spreading over his arm, and when the attacks Toshiro had mentioned before happened, said arm would curl in on itself painfully as the seizure went through. He hated watching it. Thursday's was worse, as the bruising spread over her neck, up part of her cheek, and down to her chest. She would simply tense up completely with mouth open in a silent cry until it passed. Gritting his teeth, Law turned back to working with the virus. He had to figure this out, they didn't deserve to suffer like this… surely there was some clue that would give away the nature of this disease… once he found that, he could start undoing it. His power could take care of it once he knew how, but until then it only helped him examine without touching.

He scratched absentmindedly at his chest.


	16. The Answer Revealed

The village gained a bit of hustle and bustle back as the daylight returned, but feet were dragging and nervous mutters were the only talking. A sullen man in a worn out uniform went around town counting those who had passed. He wasn't with the cleaner looking soldiers guarding the perimeter where the quarantine was set up, just on old retired man trying to see how much of his people were left, not even any energy left to curse the people in the city probably watching and laughing. This is what had made Law angry when he was stopped from entering, finding out about this quarantine, recognizing it for what it really was. They were stopping the infection here and letting the poor and dirty die off with it. There was no help.

This knowledge was now known to Toshiro as well as he had moved about in the night for answers. He was tempted to bring it straight to the governor's door, high in his shiny tower, but he had more important matters for now.

With the town moving about again, Toshiro caught sight of the children gathering and was reminded of someone who may be more helpful to him than the frightened or already dead individuals he had tried to glean information from through the night.

He was back at the gathering square in just a few moments, but the two children he was looking out for hadn't arrived just yet, a few others there instead with their different scrap piles speaking with a couple of sad looking adults trying to be strong. One lady didn't look as dour as the rest, rather curious and intrigued, speaking kindly to one of the children. Toshiro wondered if another ship had arrived and she had wondered a little far… she also had a familiar Spirit Energy, not necessarily the woman herself but an aura surrounding her. A Devil Fruit user? He was about to go to her when he caught onto the aura of one of the children he was looking for. Deciding to leave the strange woman for later, hoping she avoided getting the Stigma, he turned and headed off to find Dennis.

Unknown to him, the woman had looked his way just as he'd turned, curious about his odd appearance and why he was in such a hurry. With a last smile and farewell to the children, she made her way after him.

Focused as he was on getting to Dennis for answers, Toshiro neglected to keep aware that he had a follower. He came across the brown-haired boy on a broken little street out of sight of the town, hunched over and… crying. That couldn't be a good sign. Cautious, Toshiro approached.

"What happened?" He asked and Dennis picked his head up with a start.

"Oh… it's you." Dennis rubbed some tears from his eyes and calmed back down, the Nobody just glad the boy didn't feel scared of him anymore. "It's um… it's nothing."

"I may not be the best at emotions but I'm pretty sure that's not nothing." Toshiro gestured to the boy's face, red and puffy from crying.

"It's not your fault…" Dennis replied, turning away with a sullen expression. A small sniffle could be heard.

"Not my…?" At first confused, Toshiro looked around and realized what might have been the reason for Dennis's grief. "Where's the other boy; Kyle?"

All he got was another sniffle and Dennis buried his head back in his arms. Toshiro scowled, knowing he should feel some kind of pang of regret or sympathy, but there was nothing. Instead he just sighed.

"I'm sorry…"

"You… you tried at least… that's more than anyone… anyone else did." Dennis's responses were muffled as he didn't pick his head up, and he spoke between sobs. "So… thanks for trying."

Not sure what to say, Toshiro just looked at the ground for a moment. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to question Dennis… but if he didn't hurry, Thursday may be next, and if Kyle was gone, Dennis might be next. The faster they got a cure, the better off for all of them.

"Is everything alright?" A woman's voice made them turn to look, Toshiro recognizing her as the woman from earlier. Black hair to her shoulders, brown eyes that looked like they knew something, a short black dress with tall boots. She definitely didn't belong in this miserable side of town.

"U-um, yes ma'am." Dennis replied, wiping his face again and standing up. He'd never seen someone so pretty and felt a little embarrassed that he looked so terrible.

"My, how polite. What's the matter, boys, why so upset?" The woman approached, looking genuinely concerned, especially for Dennis.

"I wouldn't get too close, miss, the people here are very sick." Toshiro warned, the woman stopping and looking at him with confusion. "We wouldn't want you catching it… it's fatal."

"Oh dear, is that what's happened?" The woman put a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry…"

Dennis just nodded, hands clenched tight, clearly trying to hold back more tears. The woman took notice of the dark coloration on the boy's forehead, spreading down over his brows.

"If you'd like, my crew has a very capable doctor, he might be able to discover something." She offered kindly. "He is always eager to help those in need."

"Th-thanks, miss…" Dennis looked stunned by the offer, not expecting another person so willing to help so soon. Toshiro was interested as well, wondering if this doctor could assist Law. "But… I don't know if there's anything that can help."

"The Captain of the crew I'm traveling with is already working on it, one of his own has caught it, he's also quite the accomplished doctor. With two doctors working together maybe we'll find a way." Toshiro spoke up, trying to keep the child's hopes up. He didn't notice the woman's look of surprise at his words, as if she recognized something.

"When pirates are more help than our own doctors." Dennis laughed sadly to himself at the irony.

The woman was about to ask Toshiro a question when Dennis's laugh became a violent cough, and he held a hand to his forehead in pain. The Nobody caught Dennis as he fell.

"Keep back!" He snapped at the woman as she tried to approach, startling her slightly at the ease with which he commanded, his tone one of someone used to giving orders. It made her pause at least, enough to remember this odd sickness was contagious.

Toshiro just kept the boy upright as his body seized, hands clenched at his hair. Black substance began to drip down his fingers and arms, worrying the other two present.

"Won't you get sick too?" The woman asked Toshiro as the black, sickly liquid dripped onto Toshiro's arm.

"I can't get sick." The Nobody responded, looking at the substance on his skin. It felt… odd. Slimy and warm, like blood, but it gave off a feeling that made him shudder uncomfortably. There was an odd buzz in his thoughts he had to shake off, wondering for a brief, terrified moment if he COULD get sick. It was a little late either way, he had to get this child help. "He might not have much time left, we need to get him help."

"If you're with who I think you are then me and my crew may be able to help." The woman agreed. While unsure what she meant, he didn't pause to ask, getting the dizzy and pained Dennis onto his feet and towards the docks.

As this went on, just minutes before, Dextra perched in human form on top of the submarine, looking over the city with watchful eyes. She was waiting for Toshiro to return so Bepo could get some much needed sleep.

Her attention was drawn to the other harbor, hearing a familiar set of 'voices' in the distance with her Haki. Scanning through the different ships at the docks, most just small fishing or trading boats, she spotted a big colorful ship she could recognize anywhere. Excited, the girl morphed into her full eagle form and took off towards them, the quarantine no issue for her when the sky was her domain. Their presence here could either be of great help or at least an interesting adventure. Better yet, they could distract her from the feeling of dread and sickness within her home for a bit.

The lion-headed ship still bore a few passengers, who looked up when she called out to them with a sharp cry. A woman with long orange hair waved up at her in a friendly manner, letting her know they recognized her and welcomed her down. Accepting the invite, she swooped down from the sky and landed gracefully on the ship, returning to her human self and hugging the lady who had waved at her.

"Surprised to see you here, Dextra, your Papa nearby then?" The lady questioned, the others on board stepping over to greet her.

"Yeah, but we've got some trouble." Dextra responded. "A lot of people in town are sick, it's really bad, Thursday and Heinrich got it."

"Sick? Sick with what?" A small reindeer with a large hat was alert in an instant at the news of sick friends.

As Dextra explained the situation to them, not mentioning Toshiro for now as that was a story of its own for less stressful time, said Nobody had arrived at the submarine with Dennis and the woman, who gave her name as Robin on the way there, alongside him. No one was out on deck since Dextra had just left, worrying Toshiro a bit. He couldn't just bring Dennis on board, that would put the others in danger, but there was no one to get Law out for him.

"Here, I'll get Law." Robin stepped forward.

"Wait, you know him?" Toshiro stopped her with a question, not sure he should let her on board. Yet she knew his name when he hadn't said it, and she was the only one Stigma free, since he still had the black substance now drying on his arm.

She turned back to him with a knowing smile but offered no answer, stepping confidently onto the ship and heading inside, not the least bit concerned at the black flag. He could only assume she too was a pirate, and if she knew the Captain by name… what was the name of that ally crew?

Dennis gave a pained moan and Toshiro turned to him, helping him to sit for a moment.

"Has it passed?" He asked quietly.

"M-mostly…" Dennis answered before coughing. Black specs fell across his hand, causing Toshiro to frown. "Hey… is it really okay? To trust pirates?"

"Sometimes the people you think are evil aren't really that different." Toshiro answered with a shrug. "I'm traveling with them to get some help of my own, and while they're not exactly friendly, they're better than some I know."

"Yeah… at least pirates are willing to break the law… like helping us." A defeated sigh came from the boy.

They sat there for another moment before they heard footsteps, Toshiro turning to look at the submarine door while Dennis waited nervously on the ground. Robin returned with Law himself and Volpe.

"How bad is he?" Law asked, stepping off the ship and kneeling down next to them but not touching as he was first inclined to do, as really any doctor would be. Dennis shrunk away a bit, though none blamed him, as Law wasn't really a friendly doctor in appearance, and who could feel confident seeing DEATH tattooed on the hands of someone you were trusting to save you.

"He's had it for at least a day at this point, Dennis was the one I spoke with first about this Stigma, his friend was who I tried to heal before." Toshiro was quick to give the necessary details. "He can barely stand."

"I still haven't figured out exactly what it is yet, so there's not much I can do… but it's better than the street. Come on." Law stood again and headed in first to make sure people stayed out of the way.

Robin just followed in behind as Toshiro helped the child through the metal halls. Dennis was shaking, terribly nervous to be inside a pirate ship, but he didn't have much choice anymore. They passed Bepo, who watched curiously, and the boy tensed.

"They won't hurt you." Toshiro assured him, noticing the tension.

They made it into the infirmary where Law motioned to a free bed. Puffin was sitting on the edge of his with a tired expression, Heinrich and Thursday still sharing one and looking surprised as Dennis was led in with Toshiro. They knew a child needed help from what Robin had said when she showed up, but they didn't know who.

"Hitsugaya, since you can't catch it, I'll be needing your help." Law motioned the Nobody towards a sink so he could wash off the black substance from his arms.

"Alright, I'll do what I can." Toshiro nodded, following the suggestion and cleaning up before following Law's instructions to the letter to help Dennis feel most comfortable and get what they needed to figure out more about this odd plague.

While Law studied the microscopic some more, Toshiro stuck by Dennis. The boy had finally reached exhaustion, looking ready to fall unconscious any moment, pale and breathing heavily. Robin was speaking quietly to the oldest of the orphans, apparently knowing them well. She had a calming aura to her that seemed to help keep some of the stress down. Toshiro didn't feel comfortable getting in the middle of that, and he was worried as Dennis's condition declined rapidly.

"Hey…Toshiro, right?" Dennis spoke weakly.

"Yes?" The small figure responded, not bothering to correct formalities, it was not the time.

"If I don't make it… you guys can… do what you need to… to get that cure. There's lots of nice people here… I'll feel better knowing they'll make it."

"You won't have to worry about that, we'll figure this out." Toshiro wasn't even sure if he could back up that promise, he wasn't sure how quickly Law could figure this out… but damn it if he was going to let this kid suffer over it.

Dennis just smiled weakly in response and gave a sigh.

More people suddenly entered the room. Well, a small person, Dextra, and an odd creature Toshiro hadn't seen before, some kind of humanoid… reindeer? The reindeer boy looked quite startled, a blue pack strapped to his back full with items, the big blue and white hat with an x almost too big for his head, antlers barely sticking out on either side.

"Ah, there you are Chopper." Robin greeted the boy with a sullen smile.

"Robin! Dextra told me what's going on! I wanted to help!" The small creature, barely up to Toshiro's waist, cried out.

"I appreciate the thought, Chopper, but it's high risk." Law spoke up as he continued his work, not minding the new arrival too much apparently.

"But wouldn't another set of eyes help out?" Chopper argued.

"Or at least another set of hands that know what they're doing, Captain." Puffin added on, lifting up his own darkened ones to make a point.

"Oh gosh, that looks terrible!" The reindeer boy trotted over quickly to look at the damage.

"Best not to touch." Toshiro warned.

The new, unfamiliar voice startled Chopper, who hid behind Robin briefly. Well, he hid his hands and part of his face behind Robin in an attempt to hide, confusing the Nobody. He also wondered if he was really that scary…

"Don't mind Toshiro too much, Chopper, he's cruising with us for a while." Dextra tried to reassure him. "He's right though, the Stigma spreads by touch, and really fast."

"How terrible." Chopper genuinely looked alarmed and concerned, observing the different patients and the black splotches eating away at their bodies.

"Hitsugaya is actually the only one who can touch them without getting sick, so if you need anything let him know." Law finally turned to look, his words giving the reindeer permission to help out. Chopper looked very grateful for this, though confused as to why only one was immune to this plague, turning to look at the white-haired figure. Toshiro just nodded his agreement, coming to the conclusion this was the doctor Robin had mentioned. It was a little odd, this clearly young reindeer being held in high regards as a doctor, but he'd seen a duck cast healing magic that got rid of scrapes in seconds, so he didn't question it for now. They needed whatever help they could get, and he was willing to take orders if it saved lives, even orders from a tiny reindeer child.

"If you're immune, are you maybe willing to let us make a vaccine?" Chopper asked.

"It's… not so simple." The Nobody turned away nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"There'll be time to update you and the other Straw Hats on him later, for now just know he's not human, so a vaccine from him is impossible." Law explained for him. Toshiro glared, still not comfortable being labeled in such a way, but he supposed it was the quickest way to get through it until there was time for talk.

"Well… if you're sure." Chopper gave in for now, asking for an update instead and rolling right into business, Dextra taking her leave, though she clearly wanted to stay, and waiting with the rest of her crew. A few of the other Straw Hats were over now as well since their doctor was busy.

The two doctors seemed pretty adept at working together, and Chopper had a different skill set in the field that was already giving some possible insight to a solution. Law was a master at the craft of a surgeon, good with the body and hard medicines. Chopper, however, had a more nature-based talent and recognized what Law's tired and stressed mind had missed.

"It's pollen based?" Robin questioned as they spoke about it, intrigued.

"Or spore, not sure yet." Chopper answered. "Surprising it spreads through touch and not air though, so not any mushroom I've seen, it really does act similar to a virus instead other than what it's made of. But if it's organic based I might know some ways to purge it from the blood."

"Let's get to it then." Law wanted nothing more than to free his children and crew mate from this Stigma, and if it worked out save Dennis as well.

They were just about to do that when Dennis broke out in another fit of coughs, this one more violent than the last. Thursday found the energy to stand and moved to try and comfort him, Toshiro already there and trying to keep him upright so he didn't fall off the bed in his seizure. Chopper looked understandably horrified, this being the first time to see an attack, and if not for Law holding him back he would have been there as well.

"I-I can't see." Dennis whimpered between fits of coughing, black staining his hands. His eyes indeed looked unfocused, but he soon had to close them as the patch once more let off dark pus.

But as the black bruising on the boy's forehead oozed once more, Toshiro noticed something else. One could mistake it for smoke at first, but he would recognize those black wisps anywhere, the shadows. And now he caught onto a familiar, dark feeling as the truth revealed itself, threatened by their progress.

He had to think fast. He reached over and shoved Thursday away, ignoring her shout of alarm and closing his eyes as Dennis was covered in a blanket of black and he was thrown against the wall.

"W-w-w-what is THAT!?" Chopper shrieked, Law standing with a scowl and somewhat regretting his habit of leaving his sword outside the infirmary. He never thought he'd have a monster show up inside his sick bay. Robin ran over to see if Toshiro was fine before looking at the creature that had taken Dennis's place.

It could almost be considered cute, tiny pitch black body with big yellow eyes and little antennae. But the way it twitched around, looked at them all with a dead stare, it was unnatural and creepy. Its tiny talons rubbed over its head before it jumped at Toshiro. The Nobody lifted his left hand as if to defend with something, but his expression turned to shock when it didn't work. Robin crossed her arms to intervene instead, but the creature vanished and reappeared before Law. No one had noticed the Room go up in the chaos of this creature's sudden appearance.

" _Mes!_ " Law's hand struck at the creature as his ability kicked in. The shadow made no sound, its silence almost as unnerving as any cry as it thrashed for a moment before it seemed to pop. The shadows dispersed harmlessly into the air, and all that remained a floating, sparkling heart within a small blue cube. It spun peacefully in place for a few seconds before it, too, suddenly vanished, and at the absence of a heart to hold, the cube popped next.

It all happened quite quickly, everyone had to take a moment to process the event. The bed remained empty… it was as if Dennis was never there.

"Did he just…" Thursday left her sentence trailing, turning to Toshiro for answers as he was the only one who knew about them.

"Turn into a Heartless… yes." Toshiro responded, looking at his left hand in confusion. He had tried to summon the Keyblade… why had it not come to him? Why did it ignore him? He noticed the snowflake charm around his neck had gone quite dark but he didn't feel any lack of control. Shaking his head, he put his thoughts aside for now. "This Stigma has to be caused by a Heartless then."

"What's a Heartless?" Chopper was still shaking a bit as he asked, looking around for any more.

"Bad news… they must have just now showed themselves because you two are close to curing whatever dark disease it's spreading." He stood, looking at where Dennis had just been. He had doubts they would save him… but had he known a Heartless was to blame, he could have maybe held it off better.

"If there's one of those things on this island spreading it, a cure alone won't cut it." Law looked understandably pissed about this news. He was satisfied, however, at how quickly his ability let him snuff out the creatures. That would be useful for further conflicts with them now that they seemed to be increasing in population. This must have been one such attempt to create more of their kind.

"I'll take care of it." The Ice Nobody assured them, his eyes meeting with Law's. The surgeon nodded, and without further discussion Toshiro was out of the infirmary.

"Just who is he…" Robin wondered aloud.


	17. The Straw Hats Help Out

Law was left to explain Toshiro and the Heartless to the Straw Hats inside, while Toshiro himself hurried through the halls and back outside the ship. He took no notice of the new figures standing there with some of the Heart Pirates, just Flash Stepped away in search of the source to their problems.

"Whoa, he disappeared!" A young man shouted in alarm, straw hat resting upon his head. "Who was that!?"

"Oh, he's kind of a tag-a-long. Hitsugaya Toshiro, the Captain is trying to help him with something." Shachi explained. "Not sure why he was in such a hurry though."

"Is everything alright inside?" A blonde man in a suit asked.

"Hope so… guess we'll ask Toshiro what's up when he gets back."

"So your Captain adopted another one, huh?" A green-haired swordsman looked off in the direction Toshiro had disappeared with a suspicious look.

"Not... really. Toshiro's not exactly a normal kid. Not really a kid at all, to be honest, it's… hard to explain.

"I'm gonna go see what he's up to!" The straw hat wearer announced loudly, darting off in the general direction the Nobody may have gone.

"Huh-Luffy!" The two other men shouted.

"Damn he's quick like always." The orange-haired woman from before sighed. "Should we let him off on his own?"

"As long as he doesn't touch anyone who's sick he's probably fine." Penguin responded.

There was a moment as the Straw Hats thought to themselves.

"Yeah, we're going." The blonde sighed, as both he and the swordsman made their own pace to follow their Captain.

"Thank you, Sanji, Zoro." The woman winked at them as she waved them off.

"Anything for you, Nami-swan~!" Sanji crooned while Zoro just rolled his good eye and stomped onwards.

Toshiro caught onto his followers, looking back briefly to see who they were. One of the three trailing behind him was another Devil Fruit eater, the other two just very strong. He still had not gotten the chance to properly greet these allies, the Straw Hats they were called if he remembered right, but there would be time for that later. He kept tabs on them for now, in case they stumbled upon the Heartless in hiding, and continued the search for himself. If they found him, he'd have to keep the meeting short to focus on his task. A full day had already gone by at this point, Thursday, Heinrich and Puffin may not have much time left. Turning into a Heartless was definitely not a good outcome.

He'd just moved to a new spot with Flash Step when a yell caught his attention. Confused, he turned back in time to see the Devil Fruit eater somehow launching straight at him. Though baffled, Toshiro had the sense to jump out of the way before the young man landed, letting him hit the building behind him instead.

"…oops." He muttered, remembering most humans didn't do well being slammed into a building.

This one seemed among the exceptions though as with a cheerful yell he jumped out of the dust and rubble.

"Hey, finally caught up to you!" He grinned widely at Toshiro, almost… too wide. It unnerved the Nobody a slight bit. "Man you're fast, can you teleport or something? Cause I've seen lots of people move fast but you were like gone!" He laughed.

"That was Flash Step…" Toshiro answered slowly, not sure what to make of this cheerful person. "How did you… get to me so quick?"

"Eh? Oh, I just rocketed over. Made myself into a slingshot, ya know?" Hands on his hips, Luffy looked proud of his idea. "My landing still sucks though, shishishi."

Toshiro just stared at him for a moment.

"You… sling-shotted… over here?"

"Yeah. Oh! That's right, we've never met!" Luffy now realized why the odd stranger seemed so confused by him. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm a rubber man!" He reached up and pulled on his cheek, stretching it out much farther than would normally be possible. This also explained to Toshiro why he was fine after smashing into solid concrete at high speed.

"The Straw Hat Captain."

"Yup, that's me! So you Torao's friend?"

"Torao?" Toshiro's head tilted in confusion.

"Yeah, him." Luffy didn't seem to take notice that the other didn't know who he was talking about. Seeing as he was no help, Toshiro took a moment to think and could only assume Luffy meant Law. What an odd way to shorten Trafalgar.

"I'm with them more on business terms than as friends. I came here by accident, Trafalgar happened to be in the same place. His power may be able to help me with a problem of mine, but right now I'm kind of focused on a different problem so did you need something?"

"Yeah, what are you doing?"

"Hunting."

"Ooh, can I join?" Luffy practically had stars in his eyes, he looked excited for a chase. "Is the thing tasty?"

"You do not want to eat it." At this point Toshiro could only sigh. "It's a monster, not a meal, killing it will hopefully help end the Stigma spreading around this island."

"Really? Sounds great, what kind of monster is it?" Still the straw hat wearer looked unperturbed and willing to help. Toshiro wasn't sure if being rubber was going to be of any use in a fight against a Heartless, especially if it spread by touch and Luffy obviously depended on some kind of melee since he carried no visible weapon.

"I haven't found it yet." He answered instead, hoping to get the young man to be disinterested.

"Well, I'll help look then! Any big scary monster right?" Luffy didn't even wait for an answer, just took off with his idea in mind, eager to assist.

"…No wonder Trafalgar isn't a fan of being friends with him." Toshiro huffed as he watched the rubber man take off. He was surprised someone as serious and strict as Law had made any kind of friends with such a hyper person in the first place. Though… he supposed it wasn't so far off from his own friendship with Sora. Maybe that's how it was, in which case perhaps he wouldn't mind this new Captain after a while. He definitely didn't like him yet, though, not to mention it was a bad time anyway for getting to know each other. It had taken Sora months to open his mind up to the idea that he didn't have to be alone.

He shook the thoughts from his mind and continued his search, jumping to the rooftops again with ease for a better vantage point. The Heartless had to be making itself known somewhere, if its victims were becoming Heartless instead of becoming deceased, but he couldn't find any dark Spirit Energy that would lead him to the main body. Dennis must have been a warning… gritting his teeth, the Nobody kept up his search even as the Straw Hats gave up and got tired of roaming all over the town for him. They returned to the ship, dragging Luffy with them once they found him and distracting him with food so he wouldn't go running off and getting himself sick. It was getting dark as night two passed by for them, night one for the Straw Hats. Thursday and Heinrich were getting worse and nervous, as tomorrow was the starting point for potential loss. Once again, Toshiro stayed out through the night, just as determined in his search as the doctors were in finding a cure.

To pass time, the Heart Pirate crew answered some questions for the Straw Hats who had come to hang out, the Thousand Sunny now docked next to their ally ship so the rest of the group could join in outside the two ships.

"What do you mean he's dead?" Usopp, a long nosed man with outrageous curly hair didn't look convinced as they gave a name to Toshiro's existence, a Soul Reaper.

"I am curious to meet a Soul Reaper, oh, though I hope he doesn't try to take my soul." A stylish skeleton with a large afro, Brook, looked a little worried about him now. They hadn't seen the small figure like the others had, and they weren't sure they believed Luffy's description of a small boy with white and black hair dressed all in black. "He sounds quite scary."

"Eh, I mean, he has a bit of a temper, but I don't think he'd hurt anyone here intentionally." Penguin assured them. "I mean he almost killed Shachi but- "

"He did!?" The two men looked shocked.

"Well, I mean, he didn't, and he apologized later." Shachi scratched his head. "It's all good, there's just some topics he really, REALLY doesn't like to talk about. Some spooky Soul Reaper past stuff."

"So what did you mean by he wouldn't intentionally hurt us?" Nami questioned as she sipped some tea, a bit concerned for her friends if the boy was somehow dangerous.

"He's got a bit of a condition, see, where he's kind of… split in two, I think was a good way to describe it." Penguin started. "So at times he can kind of… snap."

"It's not fun, for sure, but he tries his best to control it." Shachi added. "And even though he said he's a Captain back wherever he's from, he's pretty good about doing what Captain says, like he understands it's not his squad or whatever he runs, which I think Captain appreciates. He scared the shit out of me that time but overall he's not half bad, and super strong."

"Oh yeah, his magic!" Penguin grinned mischievously.

"Magic?" The Straw Hats all asked, doubtful, though Luffy looked more excited in the story than he previously did.

"He controls the damn oceans, man, turns it into ice, makes a snowstorm, anything like that! He's like a little Aokiji but he's not a Devil Fruit user, so no ocean weakness."

"Whoa, no way!"

"Where's he from?"

"How'd you find him?"

Feeling pretty boastful that they had the cool new kid with their crew to gossip about, the engineers were about to continue with what they knew when the very subject of their conversation finally returned, well into the hours of midnight. No one could sleep comfortably at the moment with their own in such danger.

"He's so small." Brook spoke without thinking as he finally saw the infamous Soul Reaper.

Never one to take kindly to being called short, Toshiro shot the skeleton a harsh, icy glare. Brook froze up in surprise, whereas Toshiro's cold look turned to confusion. A moving… skeleton? It was a very strong soul, he could sense that much… and he'd met a skeleton before, but it was still an odd sight. This obviously wasn't the master of Halloween, to which being a walking figure of bones made sense, but a pirate instead. The aura of a Devil Fruit could be sensed as well, he could only surmise that was what let the soul keep the body moving long after decay had finished its work.

"What were you off so late for?" Penguin asked, curious, as he and a few others didn't know what the Nobody was off doing.

"The cause of the Stigma is a Heartless." Toshiro answered curtly.

Having been in the middle of a bite, Shachi spat out his bite off to the side, where thankfully no one was occupying, before joining his companion with a shocked look. Their allies, however, all tilted their heads, confused.

"What's a Heartless?" Zoro was the first to speak up for his companions.

"People who lost to the darkness and have fallen to shadow." The Nobody answered easily. These were allies, they could be allowed in on the secrets, especially since they were now in the middle of it. "They're only instinct is to consume the hearts of others trying to heal their own. Because they're part of the darkness, normal weapons can't really hurt them… I'll find it soon, I just had a thought and need to speak with Trafalgar."

Mind back on his task, Toshiro hurried inside before they could ask any more questions.

"So… people turned into monsters?" Sanji could only hope the Heart Pirates had more to give them since the strange child was clearly distracted.

"From what we can tell, yeah, he's been on this big quest fighting them when he ran into some trouble that turned him into what he is and he came here by accident." Penguin clarified, though looking a bit spooked by what held been told. "We've… seen a Heartless before. A really big one. It took all the people on an entire island."

"What?! A whole island?" Usopp put his hands to his head in an expression of shock, followed by some of his crewmates.

"Definitely sounds like bad news." Zoro growled out, looking towards the dull grey town with a piercing glare as if daring this abomination to show itself.

"Toshiro managed to beat it, but that particular one used fire, so he had some trouble. It was crazy to watch though."

"It was liking watching a ten-year-old take down a mountain." Shachi added to his friend's words. "It was spewing fire and lava everywhere and had these creepy yellow eyes…"

"Wow, your friend definitely sounds strong!" Luffy exclaimed through a mouthful of food. He swallowed quickly and turned back to his companions. "He should join us!"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Luffy." A new voice joined them. Jimbei, the blue whale shark fishman, now added to their numbers as he returned from the sea. He had said he wanted to scout for trouble since they were moving to a shadier part of the island, especially after hearing Dextra talk about the sickness going around.

"Aw, why not?"

"I only just heard the last bit, but this child seems to have his own goals, and far beyond what we can do for him, I doubt he would linger here for long." Jimbei reasoned with the young man, sitting down at the table now too.

"Besides, having a Soul Reaper around sounds like super bad luck, I sure as heck don't want death hanging around my shoulders when a fight is going on." Usopp hissed dramatically, imagining frightening scenarios of little Toshiro hovering over him in a fight with scythe in hand.

"Plus if he gets his dragon back I don't think he'd fit on the Sunny." Shachi added nonchalantly.

"Dragon?!"

Inside, away from the commotion, Toshiro entered the infirmary once more to the doctors still hard at work, not seeming to take notice of him coming in. Dextra had returned after noticing the commotion of earlier and being worried, standing near Robin for comfort with the woman's hand on her head as she kept an eye on everything. Heinrich and Thursday looked understandably stressed.

"Nothing?" Thursday asked with a weak voice.

"It's still hiding…" Toshiro responded, looking ashamed. "I need something to draw it out."

"If you're thinking of dragging it out with the cure we may have what you need." Law entered the conversation, to their slight surprise. Chopper was hopping from foot to foot in excitement.

"It's done?" Robin asked, a smile coming to her face.

Chopper nodded excitedly while Law stood and let out a relieved sigh. That was part of the problem solved, now to find the monster responsible and make it pay.

"Get some more working and take care of Heinrich and Thursday." The surgeon spoke to the little reindeer-human. "Hitsugaya, I'm going with you. I have a score to settle." He pocketed a portion of the cure they'd made.

The Nobody didn't offer up any argument, nodding instead and heading back out of the ship. He understood Law's need to fight, and now had proof his ability was the best offense against Heartless. Tired as the human was, Toshiro wasn't going to tell him no. Chopper wasted no time making a larger batch of the cure, first to use on their own crews to save the ones infected and protect those not, and then hopefully give the rest for the town. This little doctor left no one sick if he had any say in it, he could only hope Nami would be lenient and let him pay the man back for his supplies.

The night still dark as it was barely past midnight, only the lights on the ships and the pale cheap lamps in the streets granted any sight as the pair stepped outside.

"Hey I wanna see your dragon!" Toshiro had to come to a halt as Luffy jumped right in front of him.

"My-what? Dragon?" The Nobody blinked, confused. Understanding he must have been told about Hyorinmaru, the shorter figure sighed. "He's not here, that's part of my problem, but there's a much bigger one right now so if you could move please."

"It's best you stay out of this one Straw Hat." Law spoke up.

"What? Why?" Luffy gave a stubborn pout and folded his arms, not ready to sit out of any fight.

"It's not any of your concern, that's why, and you don't need to get you and your crew sick." The surgeon argued firmly.

"I couldn't get sick if I tried." The other Captain grinned challengingly.

"This isn't a normal sickness, it spreads quickly by touch, and is extremely painful from what we've seen." Toshiro offered, but clearly to little avail as Luffy shrugged and stood firm.

"Come on, the more the merrier, especially hunting in a big town like this." Zoro brought in his argument as he stood up by his Captain. It was now, during this forced stand-off between the crews, Toshiro noticed he had three swords. How odd, he'd never seen anyone carry more than two. Spares, perhaps? They all had a…he couldn't place it for certain, as each was different, but they weren't normal blades for sure. Well, if the conversation went the way it was going he might get to find out. "Do you even know what you're looking for?"

"If you want to help search, the basics to look for are yellow eyes and either a completely shadowed body or a crossed out heart symbol on its body somewhere. Heartless can take all sorts of forms, but those are defining characteristics."

"What happened to not fighting one?" Sanji questioned suspiciously. This was a new person in their ranks, after all, trust had not been earned.

"I would recommend not doing so, as they are shadows; normal attacks wouldn't really do much. Trafalgar's powers, however, have a distinct advantage against them just because of how they exist."

"Oh, so maybe any Devil Fruits are useful?" Brook put his hand up as he spoke his idea.

"Possibly, if it's ability can keep you from getting touched by one." Toshiro answered with a shrug. "Don't count yourself immune though, a heart is still a heart, they will take it."

"But I don't have one! Yohohoho!"

"…you may have a point, actually, you don't exactly have anything for the stigma to spread on…Heartless wise though you could still be at risk, and I don't think you want to test that theory."

The skeleton gave a shudder; he would most preferably NOT like to be eaten by these monsters. However, he still wanted to offer assistance where he could.

"Young man, while we appreciate the thought to keep us away from harm, I do think it would help to have more along with you." Jimbei put in his word, having noticed now that the boy was reasonable and took to logic. Perhaps he could help his new crew on that end to get on better footing with the Soul Reaper. "You say these Heartless aren't hurt by normal means, but most here are far more than normal, they may surprise you."

"Seeing what I've seen so far I don't doubt power, what I'm concerned with is the Heartless' ability to adapt very quickly to whatever world they plague. Every place I've been to they specialize themselves to better use their environment and then destroy it. There's a lot of unknown factors here since they have only just begun to spread… so I won't stop you all from going, but I AM going to make sure you know ALL the risks involved."

"Unfortunately there's really not the time for a sit down explanation, so while I'm sure you still all have questions for him we need to find this thing before it gets worse." Law interrupted any further discussion, a scowl on his face. He would let them help, that was faster than telling them not to, but the timer was ticking and he didn't much like standing around watching it go. He took the vial of the new cure from his pocket. "This should draw it out now that we can stop its damn plague, so just keep an eye out for where."

"Man, hunting something new, this is exciting." Zoro stretched his neck with a pop, a grin on his face, reminding Toshiro vaguely of his fellow Captain Kenpachi. If they had similar crazy raw power, and with swords that had more to them than they looked, perhaps he would be useful after all.

"Don't get lost, moss head." Sanji jeered.

"I hope you get eaten." The other growled back. He paused as he noticed Toshiro giving him an odd look. "What?"

"Nothing…you remind me of someone I know back home. He got lost all the time too."

"I don't get lost!"

"He said the same thing…"

Seething, Zoro stomped off as Luffy and Sanji gave a loud laugh.

Shaking his head, Law hurried off as well, not wanting to waste any more time, Toshiro quick to follow. Seeing as it was go time, Luffy and Sanji picked a direction and went, Brook wanting to help since he had clear advantages and rushing off after one of them. The rest stayed back with the ship.

"He didn't seem too bad." Nami mused aloud to Usopp, Jimbei and Franky.

"Looks young, acts old, he's a bizarre little guy." Franky disagreed.

"His eyes express a deep pain; I doubt there's any child left behind in him." Jimbei said sadly, the other two looking at him curiously. "Shachi, Penguin, you did tell us he had a troubled past, one he almost attacked you for when mentioned?" The two engineers nodded. "Whatever this past is…he may have never gotten the chance to just be a child. If Trafalgar can truly fix him, maybe that will bring it back, but for now we best tread carefully. A troubled mind is a dangerous one."

* * *

 **Was almost late with this one, campus is under a ton of construction so getting to classes and the classes themselves have been hell, only just now gotten a break.**


	18. Loss After Loss

Law followed after Toshiro as the night passed, letting the Soul Reaper try to sense anywhere the Heartless may be, and take any possible ambushes as he was immune. In different directions, Sanji and Zoro explored alleys and the pair of Luffy and Brook kept up a good attitude as they too looked around. They tried to ignore the hidden figures cowering away from them and the bodies strewn in the streets, but even Luffy's bouncing footsteps weren't as carefree as usual, so Brook noticed.

"We may have to try and use the cure against it." Toshiro spoke up, still not able to sense any specific source of the monster.

"I doubt anyone wants us to come near them at the moment." Law responded in a doubtful tone, but removed the vial from his pocket once more.

It was as if that action alone was the trigger. There were two bodies on the streets they walked, both suddenly convulsing before turning into small armored Heartless. More of the little Shadows like what Dennis had become rose from the ground to increase their numbers.

"Well, at least we can thin this thing's army down." Toshiro scowled, his icy katana appearing to his hands as he fell into a natural swordsman pose. Law didn't draw his yet, putting up a Room around them. It was the first Toshiro had really been able to see it, a light blue light in the air around them and the dome's edge barely visible. If one didn't pay attention, he could definitely surprise an enemy with it.

They were not the only ones to encounter the Heartless. As it noticed the new threat, bodies everywhere dispersed into little armored Heartless that swarmed the different parties in town, the tiny Shadows appearing easily where the pale lanterns barely illuminated to stop the humans. Brook gave a shriek of surprise but was still a practiced swordsman, and his own cold blade made quick work of them. Unlike most animals he encountered, they were more interested in him than Luffy, whereas normally he was ignored for not having any flesh. His soul was strong, or at least the most visible, and the Heartless wanted it. Scowling fiercely, Luffy forgot the warning about touching them and punched away, proving the idea that Devil Fruit's did allow the upper hand as he banished them away, little hearts floating into the air before disappearing. Fortunately for him, though no one else would have been sure, these Heartless no longer spread disease, fully formed as they were, and so they were safe.

Sanji and Zoro were startled by the sudden initial appearance of the creatures, but were otherwise quick to action. With a cursed sword and two blades imbued with the will and dreams of a swordsman and swordswoman before Zoro, they were strong enough to break the shadows. While bearing no special weapons or Devil Fruit, Sanji had a strong enough fire in his soul to beat down the shadows around him with little trouble, and with this assurance he could hit them, set to challenge Zoro on who could kill the most. The fact that these were all indeed once people who lived and worked here, that suffered to the end with this plague, did not leave their minds, but it was best to just see the monster and put their hearts to rest through death.

This was the last defense the main boss had left before it would need to worry, and it did not focus on just the ones in town. Its attention stretched further as another threat of a cure was made ready. At the ship, Nami lifted her head curiously to the dark sky.

"Cold wind…is there a storm?" She wondered. It was a bit sudden for such a thing, no other warning.

"Oh, if it's cold, it's probably Toshiro." Shachi explained to her.

"But…isn't he like, way in town?" Usopp looked confused. "Why would we feel cold all the way over here?"

"Because he controls the weather when he's fighting, which probably doesn't bode well in town." Penguin frowned in the direction their friends had gone.

"That's some impressive control, changing the weather enough to where Nami notices." Jimbei seemed impressed. "Such a wide range."

"The way he explained it it's like some unconscious side effect of using his abilities, starting a blizzard gives him an advantage in tough fights, and he said since his power is based on water it's easier for him to do it here since there's an ocean around a whole island."

"Starting a blizzard without trying? If he's all unstable and stuff isn't that bad out at sea?" Franky frowned.

"Um…probably?"

"Probably!? That's not really a good answer!"

"I mean we don't know, we're underwater most of the time and most of his energy goes to keeping himself cold cause the ship gets kind of stuffy and hot when we're under, he overheats a lot faster than a human, so I guess he's just never had the chance? I don't think he'd let it get that bad though…"

Dark clouds were beginning to form in the sky as the wind picked up. Not bad enough to worry about, but definitely a signal that the Ice Nobody was in a fight.

Inside, Dextra was taking notice to the change as well, looking towards the doors intently. So that was the feeling of a Heartless. She could focus better this time since she wasn't about to get eaten by one. They were everywhere, her Papa and the others fighting them all over town. It was like the plague came alive and grew claws. She didn't like them. Her hair turned a little feathery and was a bit ruffled.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked, still inside with them. Chopper looked over curiously, holding a syringe with a small amount of cure. He wasn't sure how much was needed to get rid of this Stigma, so best to start small and hope it worked before day two hit and they had fewer chances.

"There's a bunch of Heartless in town, they've started fighting." She reported to them quietly.

"Fighting? More of those shadowy things?" Chopper asked with concern. He put a hoof to his mouth with worry when the eagle girl nodded.

"Hey, Chopper, give it to me." Heinrich spoke up, shifting himself with some difficulty to the edge of the bed. "If it works I want to go help Papa kick that thing's ass. So many people have been killed by that thing…"

"No way, you're not going to recover that quickly." The tiny doctor argued firmly. "If you want to try it first that's fine but you're not going anywhere."

"Come on…"

"He knows what's best, Heinrich, best you listen to him." Robin spoke in a soothing tone, hoping to avoid an argument. The children were as stubborn as their adoptive father, best to keep things calm.

Though frowning, Heinrich consented, holding his arm out but staying put. Considering his slouched posture and tired eyes it was definitely better for him not to move. He had just hoped to get back at the Heartless that hurt Thursday. Chopper first pushed his stool over to the beds before hopping up and going about the usual business of administering a cure. Alcohol swab over the injection site, wait a few seconds, then a precise poke into the vein and quick injection. Hooves or not, Chopper wasn't a doctor for nothing. Heinrich still flinched a bit, but had no other reaction. Ever since becoming a Heart Pirate, he wasn't a stranger to shots. It did itch a bit though.

"How are you feeling?" Chopper questioned, hoping he didn't give too much.

"Itchy."

"Some medicines do that when first injected, so nothing too abnormal." The reindeer mused with a nod, moving to look at the bruised patches to see if they were dispersing.

As the cure took its effect, those outside fighting found themselves meeting together in a large square in the center of town. Toshiro's experience with these creatures made it very obvious what was about to happen.

"We've finally managed to trap it." He told the others, readying his zanpaktou.

"How can you tell, there's been nothing but little guys all the way here." Sanji didn't look too sure they had trapped anything. There was nothing in sight!

"I've fought Heartless like this before, once you get rid of its pawns, the main fighter comes out. If the goal of this one is to spread a plague, it's more of a hive mind than the normal kind, and we've pissed it off."

"Good, now get out here!" Luffy yelled his challenge proudly to the space around them.

"If we can get close enough, this might even damage it enough to get rid of it." Law once more held up the vial of cure to the others. "Normally I don't like wasting equipment but throwing it in the mouth would work."

"If it has one." Toshiro countered. Law looked annoyed; it better have a mouth, he wanted this to be quick.

Getting bored with conversation, Zoro tapped one of his swords on the ground in a challenge of his own as his Captain yelled again.

"I aint afraid of shadows." He growled out.

With the cure in plain sight and multiple challenges thrown its way, the Heartless finally seemed willing to show itself. Black wisps rose from between the broken cobblestone, followed quickly by a pungent smell that made them cover their noses. Mushrooms of various colors but all with black stalks started growing up, bigger and bigger, until the ground seemed to bulge upwards.

"Looks like Chopper was right, the source was spores." Law scowled as the mushrooms bloomed and let off horrible smells.

The ground finally burst and they heard a chilling gurgle as the huge fungal monster showed its main body. Multiple spindly black legs with bright, poisonous colored spines and claws, a large black body with the Heartless symbol right on the top of its brightly colored mushroom head, a few other fungi sprouting from its body. It bore a tail with more sharp spines but, unfortunately, no mouth. Law was not disheartened though, as fungi tended to absorb what was around them. Hopefully this freaky Heartless worked the same way.

More of the Shadows rose from the ground around it, adding numbers to their problems, but the pirates didn't let that stop them.

Sanji spun himself rapidly, stopping only when his leg lit aflame and using the other leg to leap with ease into the air. With a swift kick, a good grouping of the Heartless were ignited and destroyed.

Zoro held one sword in each hand and a third in his mouth. As impractical as it seemed, it was vital to a powerful wind attack he created between his blades that took out another chunk of the little shadow army.

With an angry yell, Luffy's arms stretched and flailed in what seemed a mild manner, but he never missed a punch as he pummeled yet another huge chunk out of their way.

Lastly, Brook unsheathed his rapier from within his cane, a different kind of cold settling around him as with a flash he took out another group.

Seeing them all in battle for the first time, Toshiro had to admit he was impressed. No wonder this world was completely off the radar, they probably didn't need any help, only his presence brought any attention to it in the first place, but seeing the ease with which even a relatively normal human like Sanji destroyed the creatures he didn't feel as guilty as he first had. There was still a fair bit of it, too many people here suffered under this Heartless, but he felt it would never become a world-ending problem as it did for many others.

As their fight started, attention cuts back to the infirmary of Law's ship.

Heinrich seemed even more uncomfortable than previously, Robin watching over him with concern as Chopper hurriedly tried to make more so he could give it to Thursday and then the rest of them. The reindeer had concerns about the black patches not going away, but he couldn't let that stop him from getting as much of the cure as he could have prepared for the many who needed it. Time was their enemy.

Another fit started in the boy, making Chopper pause.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah…guess it's taking a little longer to work." Heinrich reassured the small doctor. His statement, however, was followed by another fit, and this one sounded worse, causing the child to double over, hand over his mouth in a vain attempt to stifle it. Robin dared reach over and rub his back, knowing she had plenty of time and a cure ready and waiting for her to take and wanting to comfort Heinrich any way she could. Thursday used up any energy she had to scoot herself over and hug her partner in her own way of trying to help. It was all the girls could really do.

"M-maybe it's rough because it got so far in you." Chopper whimpered, afraid of what Heinrich's fits might mean. Did the cure… not work? Did they mess it up? They couldn't have, it got rid of the samples Law had when they tested it, why wasn't it working now? Or maybe… it was poisonous to humans as well as the plague? They were in such a rush to find what killed the spores they didn't think about the effect on the body.

Dextra was not quite as close and comforting as the others, her hair morphing into feathers and looking quite ruffled as her eyes lay hard and cold on her fellow orphan. Her stiff, lurking posture was different than her usual self, a predator sensing danger, her lips curled into a snarl. She was waiting for something, some kind of indicator, the only reason she didn't seem to be lunging already. She had the Haki and pure instinct to recognize something they didn't and was unhappy to have it near her family.

"Ugh… my arm…" Heinrich moaned in pain, hand going from his mouth to his blackened arm. "I-I feel like… it's burning. Fuck, make it stop!" He started scratching at the patches.

"H-Heinrich, what's wrong?" Thursday was scared, wondering why he was shaking so much. She reached over to make him stop scratching.

Having seen what happened to Dennis, Robin reluctantly saw the situation for what it was and put her hands crossed in front of her as she backed up quickly. More arms, clones of her own, sprouted from the bed and pulled Thursday carefully but quickly off before she could latch onto the boy. She protested strongly, but was too weak to fight the many arms. Simultaneously, another single pair grabbed a startled Chopper and pulled him away as well.

"I'm so sorry." She told them all, her voice a sad, defeated tone.

And then darkness overtook the infirmary as another unlucky human was transformed into a creature of shadow. Heinrich did not get stuck as the same tiny Shadow Dennis had. With their shape linked to the sins of their heart and life, a pirate would have worse forms than a misfortunate child, even if that pirate was a child themselves. Heinrich's form was like a ghost, his shadowy body holding no lower half, his arms draped in white like ripped sleeves that ended in thick claws. A long tendril of black flowed off the top of his small head, his body skinny, almost malnourished looking. Armor covered what could be the lower jaw of the Heartless, just below the vacant yellow eyes. The symbol of the Heartless was stitched right on his chest, glaring and insulting.

"Oh no!" Chopper was devastated by this event. They had failed. Not only did the cure not work, it seemed to accelerate the transformation. Thursday let out a scream of rage and grief, which, of the two shouts, caught the creature's interest the most, its head turning to look at her.

It hovered down so its arms rested on the bed, pulling itself forward as if crawling as it moved towards Thursday on the ground. Its head twitched before turning sideways to look at her curiously. Her eyes widened, wondering, briefly, if he may still be there. Maybe the transformation wasn't the end, maybe she could bring him back. Toshiro had become a monster of the darkness, if a different half, so if he could stay himself, maybe Heinrich could too. The faint hope amidst her horror and pain made her reach out, almost pleadingly, towards the ghastly thing that had taken place of the oldest child.

A white covered arm lashed out. Thursday screamed as scratches appeared across her arm from where the beast struck out, darkened blood from the Stigma coursing through her oozing from the wounds.

The moment her sibling gave a cry, the moment the threat was made obvious, that was when the necessary switch was flipped and things only got worse.

Dextra leapt with ease up onto the bed, half formed into her eagle to form some kind of child harpy. She struck first with her legs, scaly and bird-like with wicked talons, each as big as her head grabbing onto the thin Heartless and smashing it down onto the bed. It squirmed in her grip, but she gave it no chance to escape or claw back. Eyes like a true eagle and face hardened into a beak, she held no remorse in her expression as her hands, now grown with talons themselves as flight feathers grew off her arms for the wings, dug into the face of the Heartless with precise fury.

Much like Dennis's Heartless, once killed, it popped into flecks of black smoke and a crystallized heart rose up before vanishing into the air just before hitting the ceiling. The deed was done. The Heartless was gone.

Thursday didn't even have the heart to stop the younger girl, tears falling down her face as she watched the heart disappear forever. For a moment… she had hope they could save him… but Dextra never left a threat unchecked and any possibility of that was forever gone. The pain of the Stigma felt almost nonexistent to the heavy heart in her chest. Why couldn't it just kill her too? Let her turn into a Heartless! Let her be killed! Anything to get back to him.

Meanwhile, Robin stuck next to Chopper as Dextra remained in this dangerous form. Having been shocked and silent the whole time, Puffin could only pale. He knew this form… this form she took when her only goal was murder, death, and the kill. A form shaped into her by a man even more twisted, who used her for horrible things. Only her 'master' could stop her once she got this way… and he wasn't here.

"This is really bad…" He gulped, more nervous than a rabbit in a cage with a lion.

Dextra turned towards the door, the feathers formed up from her hair ruffling once more. She was taking notice of more of the creatures out in the town. Worse yet, some much closer to them than those being fought by the other pirates.

Knowing he couldn't let her out until Law got back, Puffin jumped for the door and hoped she wouldn't kill them all while locked in here. But she was faster… and was gone before his hands even felt the metal.

"We better go stop her." Robin said as she assisted a distraught and limp Thursday back onto the bed. "Chopper, stay here and get that finished."

"But, it didn't work!" The reindeer put his hooves to his head, expression panicked and terrified.

"I don't think it was the cure… keep making it, but don't give it to anyone until everyone comes back from defeating the main Heartless." Keeping her tone firm, the archeologist turned to Puffin next. "Please do what you can, I'll make sure things don't get out of hand outside."

The nurse scowled but nodded, knowing that was all he could do in his weakened state. He moved weakly over to Thursday as Robin ran back through the halls to get to her crew.

Once outside, she realized chaos had already ensued.


	19. I Must Remember Myself

The biggest problem with the mushroom Heartless was its ability to regenerate very quickly. Luffy punched off chunks, it grew them back, Sanji burnt it, the seared pieces were shed and replaced, Zoro took out the legs, it squirmed around and out popped another set. It just kept growing and replacing and mutating. Worse yet, as it did this, its spores were covering the air in a black mist and growing along the ground. They were surely all infected by now, but while they put their best effort in the creature would regrow whatever they did.

Another problem that developed during the fight… when Toshiro went to freeze it, it did not take kindly to the cold and revealed how the Stigma affected a Nobody. Black mist was rising off his left arm as it hung limply at his side, immobilizing it. The black scars where the smoke billowed from bubbled grotesquely, and by the tense expression on his face, it was extremely painful. Needless to say, it was hard for him to even move.

' _So this is why I couldn't summon the Keyblade then, huh? It took care of that first chance it got…_ ' He thought, scowling, realizing this was why his charm was black as well. Unable to cover the area effectively, he had no way to stop the morphing and changing the Heartless kept doing to avoid the solid strikes the others dealt, making it much more difficult than it needed to be. It wasn't strong, but it was terrifyingly smart.

Law had hung back when his first attacks didn't help much. Splitting it apart with his ability wasn't useful when it could just grow itself back together, and he wasn't getting close enough yet to try any shocks or heart stealing, not until he was sure it was immobilized. Brook hung by Toshiro to keep back the minions that still skulked from the shadows when they could.

"This is quite the tricky duel we have here." Brook's teeth chattered nervously. "Are Heartless normally this robust?"

"They can be. The stronger they are, the more unique they get, and this one was watching us the whole time." Toshiro answered with a growl. "I'm sorry for letting things get this way."

"Just figure out how to stop what's on your arm." Law pushed aside the apology. The Nobody's arrival may have turned the interest of these creatures to this world, but he by no means could have predicted these kinds of events, and they needed him to get back in the fight.

A few more Heartless sprung at the trio but Law and Brook were having none of that.

"You're starting to really make me mad!" Luffy's shout caught their attention, the young pirate crouching down. His body rippled oddly before steam rolled off his skin as it turned a bright red from heat. Just after this, Luffy was springing around faster than an arrow, his punches hitting harder. The high increase in heat staved off any infection as well, better than any fever while making the rubber man tougher.

With a screech the Heartless did its best to defend itself, more mushrooms growing along its body and hardening in response to the intense punches, shielding and replacing whatever was lost. It couldn't dart around as fast as Luffy could but it tried, and it was enough to prevent serious damage. It charged at Sanji.

"Your mistake, champignon." The blonde scoffed, landing a solid kick to the creature's head as it tried to ram him, sending it skidding back a few feet. Stumbling a bit from the impact, the Heartless was open to a pounding of wind from one of Zoro's sword strikes. With the enemy off balance, Sanji charged it in return and gave it a few more powerful kicks, launching it up into the air.

Luffy went for his strike as he pushed off the ground hard enough to make the stone crack, but it was as if the mushroom creature wanted to be in the air. Its spiny arms latched onto the rubber boy like a mantis, and with a victorious cry several blackened vines sprouted from its underbelly and attached to the rooftops, suspending it above them like a spider.

"It certainly is adaptable." Toshiro grumbled as he watched the fight unfold.

Luffy was NOT happy with his current predicament, squirming in the spiny appendages that kept him from twisting out even with his flexibility. The poison didn't affect him, which confused the Heartless. The human should definitely be paralyzed by now, even the Reaper would have been affected, but this feisty pirate was very active and becoming quite the bother. Luffy's high resistance to even the deadliest of poisons was hard earned, he wasn't going to let this spider mushroom stop him, and eventually he got himself released from the spines and returned to the ground, if with some nasty scratches.

"Man this thing is annoying." Zoro growled between the sword in his mouth.

Deciding he'd been kept out of the fight long enough, Toshiro did a risky move, something he had to do or remain a burden in this fight. Dark blue ice formed over his arm, the scars sizzling slightly before going quiet as they were suffocated by a thick layer of frost. It stung harshly for a bit, the Nobody sucking in a breath as he endured it until it all went completely numb.

"Oh my, are you sure you want to do that?" Brook looked concerned by Toshiro's new 'glove'.

"I am ice; it won't cause any more damage than whatever that thing already did to me." Toshiro replied through gritted teeth. "It's all I've got for now if I want to be able to do anything."

Now that he wasn't having to focus on keeping the pain back, he could move more freely, zanpaktou in hand again. The chain was shortened and wrapped around his arm so it wouldn't get in his way, seeing as he couldn't use his other hand to throw it as he normally would. It would have to just remain wrapped for now. He stepped over to where the other three were.

"You sure you want to be over here?" Zoro asked the small figure.

"It's not the first time I've been down an arm in a fight and I doubt it would be the last, Soul Reapers fight until their last breath." Toshiro replied coldly. "Besides, I can do more than sword play."

Seeing the fourth member below it, the Heartless grew quite restless. It had already been forced into this new stage by the first three, and now it had a new one in the mix. The other two from behind were stepping up as well, not good for it, it understood it was in trouble now. It eyed the vial in Law's hands with anger. If it could just destroy that and disappear, it could wait until they all died and became Heartless. Patience was its strong suit. Then it could nab the small one for the mistress who gave it life here.

Just before this stalemate, when chaos had occurred inside the infirmary of the Heart Pirates' ship, the chaos spread outside in the form of more Heartless rising from the shadows. Nami and Usopp both gave frightened screeches while Jimbei and Franky jumped to their feet with scowls, Penguin and Shachi just reeling back in surprise.

"Whoa, hey, where'd they come from!" Shachi yelped.

"Get out of here, shady rats!" Franky thrust a fist out, which sprung out and began firing rounds at the small creatures. A good many of them were blown back and popped into black mist and a floating heart, but were quickly replaced by more.

"These must be the Heartless the small Reaper spoke of." Jimbei growled as he used powerful martial arts to keep the ones that jumped back from the ships. Shachi and Penguin brought out guns and made to shoot, but unlike with Franky there was little effect from regular bullets. They nervously kept back at this revelation, leaving it to the Straw Hats.

Though numerous, the creatures by the individual weren't all that tough, giving Nami and Usopp reason to step forward and help, Nami with her special climatact that let her mess with small weather systems of her own and Usopp with his special slingshot to unleash an assortment of deadly plant bullets.

Before they could make their entrance, however, a blur rushing out of the submarine made them and their other two companions pause in their fighting, at first worried of a new threat and instead gaping at what they saw. Dextra the harpy launched right at a Heartless, carrying it up into the air as she crushed it between her talons before swooping straight down for more, landing this time to slice at any of the creatures in her range. Unlike the child they were used to, her eyes were hard and focused on vulnerable body parts, a predator through and through, making a few of them shudder nervously. Even if the Heartless barely had necks between their round little heads and odd bodies, she sliced at them with her hands. Even if there was no difference between stomach and back strength in their forms, her feet gutted them in one swipe. Even though they had no physical vulnerabilities like normal living things, she had the strength to slaughter them in one fell strike. The horde kept rising and falling around her, a constant threat she would fight until she fell, whatever it took to keep them from her home, from her family.

"Well damn, better do something about her." Franky looked very concerned about the orphan's state. Of the straw Hats that had helped in getting her back for Law in the chaos of Dressrosa that felt so long ago now, only Luffy knew of this form, so the rest of his crew remaining here was reasonably startled by her current behavior. Nami looked quite horrified, having taken a liking to the quiet but ever helpful and curious nurse-in-training, not sure what to make of this very different side of the girl.

As Dextra was clawing down one, another two jumping at her managed to get to her just fast enough to land a scratch across her hip. She gave an awful sound of anger at the attack and took care of the assailants, but it was clear even an adept predator like her was being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of shadows. She jumped into the sky momentarily to keep them off her.

"Come on, she'll get hurt!" Usopp was the first to rally his friends back into the offensive. He'd enjoyed the company of the orphans, even quiet little Dextra always glued to Law's side, it was a bit upsetting to see her this way. He took a few shots at the Heartless coming after the harpy, carnivorous plants growing extremely rapidly and snapping at more of them. Confused by the attacking flora, the Heartless at first just kept a wide berth from the new threat, their scrambling giving Dextra a chance to kill several more.

Robin hurried out of the ship at this point, spotting the trouble and gasping at the numbers flowing from the shadows.

" _Mille Fleur!_ " She shouted, crossing her arms. Copies of her arms sprouted from the ground and latched onto as many shadowy bodies as she could and holding tight until they burst, though some escaped back into the shadows of the ground if they could touch it.

Even with Robin outside and Dextra going after them like a wolf in a hen house, it was not any easier of a fight.

And neither was the one with the main 'queen' Heartless. Its patience was slowly being rewarded as the polluted air was starting to get to the fighters. Zoro was tenser than he normally would be in an attempt to hide the increasing weakness in his muscles. Sanji was breathing a little heavier than he would have been after such a short fight. Law had a hand to his chest and used his sword to keep himself from swaying, hiding it well like Zoro. Luffy was grumbling, among the least affected, but along with all those already mentioned was showing patches of black on parts of his skin. Brook was the only one free of illness and quite infuriated at the state of his comrades. Toshiro, too, was looking tired, the arm covered in ice restricting his movements.

The web it had created to keep itself above them was giving them the most trouble. They could get high enough no problem, especially Toshiro and Sanji since they could pretty much stand on air, if in different ways. Their obstacle lay in how much faster it could move along the tendrils of black vines. When they went up, it flipped upside down. They even tried a pincer from above and below, but parts of the web would snap off and attack back like thorny snakes, allowing the fungus monster to escape. It was only running away at this point, waiting, careful.

Though tired, Toshiro felt he had no choice but to try Kido. His sword skills were handicapped anyway, and freezing the web turned out to be too slow, as it would shed the frozen pieces and replace them, just like it had done with its body armor in the fight before this. The Nobody jumped up onto the web. Anticipating an attack, the Heartless skittered to the other side.

"Someone be ready." He called below before laying his hand on the vines. Before anyone could ask about his intentions, he began a chant. Letting out a garbled hiss, the Heartless tapped a foot and a vine sprung up next to the Nobody, but he did not pause even as he glared at it.

"Hey, get out of there!" Luffy called out, shocked. His shout was ignored.

" _Hado number eleven,_ _"_ Toshiro was forced to pause as the vine pierced him right through the left shoulder since he could only allow himself to duck a bit. He winced, his voice carrying pain but still refusing to stop, ignoring the angry yells of the pirates. _"_ _Tsuzuri Raiden!_ "

The black vines instantly came aglow with bright lightning that raced across the web in seconds. It was either jump or be fried, and the Heartless chose to leap. Toshiro was left to take his own attack, gritting his teeth. The worst of it wasn't so much the lightning as the flashbacks to a world he'd been to, a digital one where a rogue AI electrically tortured him for information. He was able to still brace himself until the Kido ran its course, but the memories of that horrible world still made him shake a bit. He wondered if he would ever get over that, one of the horrible times Hyorinmaru had been forcefully separated from him and his skin charred from electric shocks. At least then his dragon was still with him, could still return, not like now. Part of him knew that memory, and others like it, may always plague him even if he did become whole again.

The Straw Hats fortunately took the opportunity given to them, Zoro and Sanji furiously leaping after the creature and double-teaming it to slam it into the concrete below, making a small crater with the force of their attacks.

"Gotcha now Bugshroom!" Luffy spoke the nickname he gave the creature with great distaste as he pummeled it further into the ground.

Leaving them to it, Brook hurried to stand below where Toshiro was as the web started to break apart in charred pieces. The spike in his shoulder broke away, letting the Nobody fall below. But as in pain as he was, Toshiro still landed on his own instead of letting the skeleton catch him, stumbling a bit but stubbornly remaining upright. He may not be in the greatest of conditions but his pride refused to let him look any weaker than he already did to these pirates. The ice crept further up his arm, up to the new wound in his shoulder, to stop the bleeding. Everything felt so heavy, but he wasn't done yet.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Brook was concerned about the slight shaking in Hitsugaya's free hand, which quickly tightened into a fist to still that shaking.

"I've had worse." Toshiro responded coldly, a shortened version of what he'd told them before after freezing his arm the first time.

"You keep going like that you'll die before the fight is over." Law countered with an irritated tone, if a little short of breath from the Stigma creeping over his chest. He would deny it if anyone said anything, but he'd been holding back his own shakes, the patches a glaring reminder of a past he wanted to move on from. Though unaware of the other's traumas, both Toshiro and Law were mentally out of sorts for this fight, both facing obstacles of harder times they refused to let stop them, but still painful in many ways.

"Good thing I'm already dead." The Nobody shot back.

Law glared at the other but held his tongue. This was not the time, and if not for the smaller figure's sacrifice they may have never gotten the annoying Heartless down before the Stigma took over. He couldn't quite understand why Toshiro wanted to keep fighting so much, yet he also felt it wasn't his place to stop him.

That said, even down from its web the Heartless was still giving them a hard time. A mouth had split open across its body, taking bites at anyone who got too close, mainly Sanji and Luffy. The latter's nickname for it definitely fit now, as it had hard beetle-like armor from the mushrooms across its back, spindly spider legs letting it run around quicker, horns grown from its head like a stag beetle battling off Zoro's swords. It now regularly let off puffs of spores like a squid let loose ink, blocking their sight long enough for it to push them back. Since it was no longer able to just dodge and wait, it would do its best to take them down with it.

Watching the trio continuing to try and break it down even as the Stigma sapped away their energy, Toshiro looked once more at his left arm, ignoring when Brook zoomed off to aid his friends, and even ignoring Law when the pirate glanced at him before rushing off as well.

' _If I could just use the Keyblade. Or just my arm in general, dammit, even if the ice keeps off its Stigma I'm so much slower._ ' He mentally cursed to himself, scowling outwardly at the dark blue ice handicapping him. He closed his eyes as he tried to hold back the fury. Of the few emotions he could still bring up, that wasn't one he needed right now. ' _This isn't their fight, these pirates, but I've dragged them into it anyway. So many people have become Heartless… I should be stopping this… some guardian I am…._ '

 _Are you giving up?_

Startled, Toshiro opened his eyes not to a battle, but to an endless darkness around him. That voice… a voice echoing in his head yet not there at all. The voice that had helped him before when he first awakened the Keyblade, the voice of the Heavenly Guardians before him, his predecessors and guides in one being.

"…. Where?"

 _Do not worry, within your mind thoughts move much faster than outside, the battle can wait._ The voice responded. _But not for very long. So… are you giving up?_

"No way!" Toshiro denied with little hesitation, rather insulted it would ask such a question.

 _Being a Heavenly Guardian does not mean saving all from darkness, same as being a Soul Reaper does not mean saving all from Hell, whether literal or figurative._

"I know that." Toshiro gave a slight huff at the apparent lecture.

 _Then why let the loss of a few stop you from moving on to the rest? Did you not lecture Sora on the very same idea when he questioned his ability as a Keybearer?_

"I…" That made the Nobody pause for sure. He DID give Sora quite the hard lesson on the truth about being a warrior, that there was no avoiding death no matter how much you might try to save everyone. There were just too many. Yet… he could only feel guilty, knowing the people of this world would have been safe had he not stumbled his way here in a panic. He knew he couldn't save everyone, but he also knew it was his fault the Heartless were even here in the first place. "This is different…"

 _The door was opened early, but with the darkness growing in strength, it was inevitable for even worlds like this to find themselves in shadow._ The voice corrected, and Toshiro looked out to the void in confusion. _There is a great darkness coming, new guardian, and you must be there to stop it. This is but a step in your journey, a steep climb, full of slippery trails and hungry animals. But at the top awaits a great power only you may awaken. You may slip, you may be hurt, but if you allow yourself to fall, another will steal that throne from you and the worlds will be lost._

"That's a lot of responsibility…" Toshiro looked back at his arm in shame. In his mind, the ice did not cover, the sleeves of his coat and shirt torn off up to the shoulder where he could see the blackened scars of the Stigma across his skin and the wound through his shoulder. They did not bleed or fume, but they were no less painful to look at. "Especially when I'm so much weaker than before."

 _A minor setback._ The entity spoke with confidence; a confidence Toshiro didn't share. _Your fear is overriding your judgment, new guardian, and that is why the Keyblade denies your summons._

"I doubt any of you had to deal with being a Nobody." Toshiro scowled out to the void, not denying his fear. Of course he was afraid. He could no longer control a power he'd known since childhood, a power now turning on even him when the darkness clung to him. That same darkness still continued to eat away at him, his focus, his thoughts, his ability to fight soundly. It was all off balance and he felt so lost. How could he not be afraid as he slowly lost everything he ever was to the nothing of being a Nobody?

 _Are you accepting your fate then?_ The voice questioned.

"Like Hell I'd ever allow myself to fall into their trap." For a moment confidence did shine through in Toshiro's response. He surprised himself even, expression softening as he questioned his motives.

 _Another question then. Whoever said darkness was evil?_

"What?"

 _Riku, Demyx, Axel, many people you've met on your journey had ties to darkness and yet were among your greatest allies. Darkness itself is dangerous and in the wrong hands produces great and terrible power. But there is no rule stating it is inherently evil. Just as light is never inherently good. The Heavenly Guardian is neutral and seeks only to help the worlds in a balance of light and dark._

 _Never did we say it is darkness itself you should fear, only those who use it in evil ways._

Stunned, Toshiro had to take a moment to think about what he was told. Many months back, when first facing Maleficent… she had called out a darkness in him, and he had shrugged her off. Back then he had known what the voice was telling him. Back then he knew there was no harm in having to be a little dark when it came to what needed to be done.

It was sometime during his travels fighting for the light alongside Sora and all the others, seeing his enemies shrouded in darkness and terrible power, that he'd come to change his mind…

"That's what ended up getting me in the end… isn't it?" Toshiro muttered aloud in realization.

 _There is a darkness plaguing you, one you must be wary to let in, but there is no need to let it consume you in fear as it has been._ The voice said reassuringly. _Those you know did not escape the darkness, rather, they accepted it, did they not?_

"To an extent…"

 _Be the owner of your darkness, not let it own you. You can follow a stream but avoid the falls if you control the flow. The Keyblade will be your guide through the darkness, not the blade to destroy it. Often it is the deepest shadows that hide the strongest light, and the strongest light creates the darkest of shadows. Holding too tightly to one makes the other tug harder._

"These are all great metaphors… but I'm still not understanding." Toshiro shook his head. "It's like you're going in circles. The darkness isn't bad, the darkness is bad, stay with the light, accept the darkness, don't accept it…" He put his hands to his head and shook it again in frustration. "What am I even supposed to believe anymore!?"

 _You are the Heavenly Guardian. You are the balance. If you truly believe you can return to yourself and awaken who you truly are, you must first accept where you have been. Find your balance, new guardian, none of us before you were ever purely light, even if Kingdom Hearts is. Follow your heart, even just the memory of it, and you will return from this stronger than you have ever been._

The presence of the voice was beginning to fade from his thoughts and he could begin to hear the fight outside again.

"Accept where I have been… I guess that makes more sense, I've been in some dark places before this." Toshiro heaved a sigh. "Doesn't make this any less terrifying, feeling myself slip away… I guess I better stop drowning and learn how to swim."

Light flooded the void as he was returned to the real world.

* * *

 **Here's the chapter, though I'm still open to ideas on who can get a Keyblade, I've got a couple I'm thinking about. Don't expect it anytime soon though, this is an idea for much later in the story, cause remember I have a back log of chapters to post that you'll have to read through before any new keybearers.**


	20. My Dragon Returns!

Law and Brook had just entered the fight, managing to corner the creature, but its armor was tough and they were running out of energy, the Stigma eating away at their bodies and stamina. They were ready to give it one last shot though, and once it was dead they could get to Chopper and get rid of this plague. Law was saving the vial of cure in his pocket still for the right moment. Brook was capable of rushing for the reindeer doctor, stigma free as he was, so he needed to try and use it to get rid of this monster.

The already cold air dropped below freezing in seconds, frigid air blasting over them as they inhaled sharply and stopped, even the Heartless pausing where it was in surprise. Ice spread over the ground and up over the walls of buildings. It wasn't the dark ice they were expecting with the sudden bout of freezing air; it was… lighter. There was more of a blue-gray tone to it now, almost like paper snowflakes that spent too long in the sun and were fading in color.

"Whoa, he's glowing!" Luffy exclaimed as they all turned back to Toshiro.

Sure enough, the Nobody was shrouded in an aura not of darkness, but a dull gray, as if trying to brighten and white out the black. Hat having long fallen off, his white hair tipped in black covered his eyes from them as he just seemed to stand there and let out his energy, taking control of the air and water around them in a small storm.

"Trafalgar… if I could have that vial." Toshiro sounded oddly… calm, considering the situation. As far as Law knew from experience, all this glowing and winter storm was a bad thing, yet the small figure seemed in control of himself. The ice over his arm was cracking now as well.

The surgeon hesitated, not sure he trusted such an important piece to the Reaper as he was now.

"It's in a liquid form, isn't it? I can fix all this now." Toshiro lifted his head. His teal eyes had the same odd glow as the aura around him, but other than the strange color there was nothing but confidence in his gaze.

"What changed?" Law still looked suspicious.

"I had a change of heart." The pirates could have sworn a light smirk threatened to pull at the boy's mouth.

The ice on his arm shattered in the next moment, a flash of light bringing their attention to his hand. The Keyblade was back, Law starting to understand whereas the Straw Hats were shocked and confused by the odd weapon. The black scars on his left arm, sleeves destroyed same as in his thoughts, began to fade until only pinkish scars remained. With the return of the Keyblade, the infection of darkness holding it back was cured. The wound in his shoulder began to bleed freely once more, but that was more easily ignored now.

"Whatever you're planning, you better not mess this up." Law shot at Hitsugaya, removing the cure from his pocket and tossing it towards the other. He had glanced at the snowflake necklace around the other's neck as well and noticed it was back to a blue color, a clearer indication of Toshiro's mental state.

Seeing the offending poison to it flying through the air, the Heartless gave an angry shriek and darted after it.

"Hey! Get back here Bugshroom!" Luffy was having none of that and let his rubbery arms stretch over and wrap around the creature, pulling it back. It snarled and shrieked, straining against the rubber arms, but to no avail, spiny legs leaving gouges in the road as Luffy drug it backwards and away from Toshiro.

The Keyblade swung through the air and broke the vial, but instead of the cure inside dropping useless to the floor, it gained a bit of a shine and circled around the head of the weapon. It swirled faster and faster until it resembled a halo of bright green liquid. Toshiro lifted the Keyblade towards the sky and with no other provocation needed the cold wind around them followed, a backwards flowing tornado that grabbed hold of the small amount of liquid. Even as Luffy kept his hold on the Heartless he watched with open mouth just like the others as the cure began to freeze, not completely solid like ice, but into a flurry of gray-green snow as the winds kept it from becoming one mass.

"With _Tensou Jurin_ I can control the atmosphere around me, anything with water that's easily accessible is fair game. Creating flakes from each drop increases the volume, so now I can do this." Finishing his explanation, Toshiro brought the Keyblade downward in a confident swipe.

The snow followed as the wind dispersed, falling over all inside their small area of the town. Luffy let go of the Heartless in surprise as it started squealing and rolling on the ground. Its body fizzled and bubbled where the fragile snow touched down on it as if made of acid. Sanji and Zoro each held a hand out curiously as the snow touched down on them softly as well, but it did not burn them. Despite the cold, the snow melted the moment it landed and let off miniscule green specks of light as the cure absorbed into their skin. In response, the black patches began to disperse and they felt their strength coming back to them.

Law was quite impressed as his own Stigma vanished as well. The cure he made hadn't been capable of absorbing through skin, but somehow, when Toshiro changed it to ice, he added some power to it that allowed such a thing. He made one small vial that might have only saved one person into an area wide spell that cured all of them. Not to mention it was removing the field of mushrooms from the area, cleaning away the tainted air, and causing a lot of pain to the Heartless who started it all. Law's rushed effort to make anything that would remove this plague combined with a Reaper's strange magic turned the tide in their favor in a dramatic way.

"That was amazing, it's all gone!" Brook exclaimed, spinning around in the snow.

"Now I can pay this piece of garbage back properly." Zoro rolled his shoulders and sneered down at the writhing Heartless. In response to the hostile glares directed at it and the cold power covering the area, the mushroom covered Heartless shakily skittered back away from them. For all its earlier ability and prowess, once its vulnerabilities were laid bare it didn't seem worth even a fraction of the trouble it had given them. Its armored hide was falling off in chunks of fungi and black flesh similar to how its Stigma affected the people, an almost ironic end.

An interesting aura caught Toshiro's attention, causing him to turn away towards the sea while the pirates cornered their foe.

"With this we can finally set to getting rid of the plague on everyone." Law spoke with a scowl, remembering the pain his orphans were going through because of this beast, and Puffin as well in his efforts to aid his Captain as best he could. He would save the three of them as soon as this monster was dead.

"Then let's waste no more time!" Brook responded as he brandished his blade.

Just before they could do anything, however, a shadow passed over them and made them all pause. An unpleasant chill settled over them just as a huge black figure crashed down in front of them, crushing their previous foe effortlessly under one foot.

"What the Hell!?" Sanji exclaimed as he and his companions jumped away and out of the beast's shadow in surprise.

"A new one?" Zoro scowled fiercely.

The mushroom Heartless dispersed into shadows with a pathetic sounding wheeze, and the heart that flew free was promptly snatched up in the giant jaws of what could only be a dragon. Pitch black and a body that looked to be made entirely of ice, standing well over the heights of the buildings around it. Golden-yellow eyes were looking hungrily at all of them next as black ice spread from where its feet and the claws of its forewings touched a solid surface. It was as if this dragon sucked out all heat in the air, covering everything in solid ice. This Heartless was on an entirely different level than the fungus they had just been fighting. Heart swallowed, the creature's jaws opened partly once more so that they saw the armament of razor sharp back fangs.

The Straw Hats all tensed for a fight whereas Law's eyes widened in recognition.

So this was Hyorinmaru.

Just before Zoro could jump at the black dragon, there was a blur of motion and Toshiro forcefully pulled the swordsman to a stop.

"Wha-hey!" Zoro snarled at the smaller figure.

"Attack him and this is where we cross blades." Toshiro snarled back with equal force, eyes daring the green-haired man to lay a finger on the beast.

"But Hitsugaya…" Brook looked confused.

"It's Hyorinmaru, his dragon." Law pointed out for them. They vaguely recalled such info being given to them from the other Heart Pirates and looked back at the Heartless with a new perspective. He was a lot… more intimidating than they were expecting. So very unlike the tiny soul he supposedly belonged too, and a lot angrier.

The topic of their discussion, however, did not seem to care that his Master was in sight. If anything, the icy spines on his back seemed to bristle up larger and sharper than before as he let out an aggressive hiss. He saw not an ally, but a challenge, drawn by the ice storm in search of a goal he couldn't quite remember.

"Hyorinmaru, it's me." Toshiro turned back to his companion, surprised by the hostility. He reached out to hear the voice of his beloved dragon… only to be met by a wall of resistance. "Hyorinmaru?"

"You sure it's him?" Sanji sounded less than convinced as the black dragon lifted its forelegs up to spread its wings out in a show of power, hissing once again.

"Of course I am." Toshiro snapped back. How could he not recognize his partner? "He's just… something isn't right. Normally he still listens to me."

"Well then let's beat some sense into him." Luffy said with a confident grin, hitting his fists together.

"No!" Toshiro was quick to shoot that idea down, and the rubber man seemed to deflate as he pouted. "This is my responsibility; I'll take care of him. You all still have a Stigma to cure."

"I gotta agree with him on this one, Luffy." Zoro grumbled, though he still kept at least his two swords in hand, his eye never leaving the dragon as Hyorinmaru swung his ice-spiked tail. Another building fell to the ground as it was struck, a sound like glass shattering as black ice broke with it only to reform over the rubble as the tail rested on it. "Chopper could probably use some help getting it out to everyone."

Law didn't wait on the Straw Hats for their decision. He DID have people he needed to cure, and he had no time to waste on arguing allies. Hyorinmaru was not his problem, it was just as Toshiro said. Seeing his fellow Captain dart off and hearing Zoro's point, Luffy gave a huff and conceded to their decision.

"Alright, but we'll be right back!" He pointed at Toshiro and said with firm promise in his tone. Then, along with his crew mates, they hurried back to the docks.

"Hopefully by then I have this fixed." Toshiro muttered this more to himself since they were already out of earshot.

He held his blade out before him and in response Hyorinmaru gave an angry hiss, lashing out without any further provocation. The force was the same as a truck slamming into a small statue. But thankfully this statue was sturdier than that, so while Toshiro was pushed back several feet by the force from the blow, his stance did not falter and let him recover quickly.

"I don't want to fight you, Hyorinmaru… not again… but I will if I have to!" The Ice Nobody yelled his challenge to the Heartless, though within his voice was a pang of sadness at their situation. He had done this once before already, thanks to a rogue zanpaktou, and while it bothered him to fight his own spirit partner after all the pain they had already suffered, he was determined to bring him back, just like he had before. Hyorinmaru was a prideful dragon, so it was only power he would respect. Once again Toshiro had to prove he had that power, and maybe once again it would bring Hyorinmaru back to his senses.

Going back a bit, the storm Toshiro first summoned forth with the cure caught the attention of those back at the ship. The odd color of it made Nami narrow her eyes at it suspiciously. What was the odd white-haired child doing with that snow?

She was brought from her musings as a flurry of feathers went past her, causing her to let out a yelp. Dextra paid the noise no mind and continued her slaughter of the Heartless. The Straw Hats had managed to thin out most of the Heartless so that the child wouldn't keep up this attack any longer, but the swarm would slowly replace itself, and it was impossible to keep her out of a fight. Jimbei had tried, his tone calm to get her attention away from bloodlust to a hopefully milder state, but the moment a Heartless made a leap at her or someone just nearby, her feathers ruffled in fury once more and he lost her. Instead he could just do his best to keep her away with stray water sprays to divert her path. The sharp glares she sent at him made him shudder, as no child should look so murderous, but fortunately she did not make him a target.

With the blizzard in the distance, though, they noticed the Heartless stop rising from the shadows whenever they felled the others. They also seemed disoriented, their little heads twisting around and looking, the antennae on the small Shadows twitching as if waiting. This made them much easier to take out, and soon there was just a small batch of them left. Plants were strewn about the road to corral the last of them in, scorch marks on the gravel from controlled weather bursts. Nami and Usopp had made sure to add to the barrage of bullets and water from their stronger members, and Robin helped with pinning the rest down for easier extermination.

"Franky, if you would." Jimbei asked of his cyborg companion, his attention focusing once more on Dextra. This time he was determined to calm her down however best he could.

She went to make a dive at the trapped creatures, but came to a fluttering stop as Jimbei jumped in her way. A grunt of annoyance escaped her throat. Seeing as she hadn't spoken the whole time she had been in this form, Jimbei assumed she either couldn't because of the beak or this odd persona of she just refused to. That mattered little, all he needed was to keep her attention on him, ignoring the sounds of bullets as Franky did as he was asked.

"Dextra, my dear, there is no reason to continue this." The fishman spoke in a soft, soothing tone. He considered himself good with children, but he knew the eagle fruit user had been through a lot and was not in the mindset of a normal child, he would need to tread very carefully. "How about we return to the ship and take a moment to relax ourselves?"

She narrowed her eyes at him before looking behind him. The last of the Heartless were disappearing into black wisps, the floating hearts vanishing into a place none of them could know at that moment. The plants in the area withered away and the multiple sprouting hands popped into a flurry of flower petals that were lost to the winds. There was indeed no more danger here, but Dextra did not lose her feathers, instead perching menacingly on the railing of the submarine and looking back at Jimbei with harsh predatory eyes. The Straw Hats felt uneasy with the harpy girl still waiting to tear something up. How could they return her to the child they knew?

"Dextra!" A small voice came from the ship as the girl's twin rushed out, along with Daniel and Bepo. "Sis, come back!"

"Hey, whoa, stay over here." Shachi and Penguin, having stayed back unable to hurt the monsters with normal weapons, rushed over to the children to stop them from running towards the tense harpy.

"You have no need to remain in that form, child." Jimbei continued speaking to the girl to keep her attention on him. It wasn't too hard, she seemed to ignore the commotion behind her as her twin argued with his elders to approach her, just staring stoically back at the fishman. She wasn't being hostile, but she didn't seem interested in what he had to say, either, as if waiting for a command, a patient predator awaiting their master.

"Whoa, is that a d-d-d-d-DRAGON!?" Usopp's terrified shouting abruptly cut off any activity around the ships as they followed the sniper's pointing. Sure enough, they saw Hyorinmaru as the huge dragon made his dive down to where the others were. They just didn't know it was Hyorinmaru, so they all paled in worry for their companions as they saw the creature flare its wings in challenge and smash a building, huge as it was they could see it fairly well over the two story housing and slightly bigger office buildings.

"Another Heartless?!" Franky scowled over at the shadowy beast.

"Damn it's like Hitsugaya is a magnet for them, does that weird witch want him so bad?" Shachi looked nervous. Unlike their Captain, while they knew of Hyorinmaru, they never got to see what he looked like as a Heartless, only Law having seen the small statue Toshiro had made as an example. Plus, Toshiro had told them all he had control of his dragon, so all they could assume at this point was another enemy.

Feathers flaring back up, Dextra lifted her arms as if to take off, fixated on the giant creature.

"Stop, you must not go there!" Jimbei put more force in his tone this time, worried what would happen if the tiny eagle tried to go against such a monster. It could easily fit her whole in its mouth, he was not about to risk such a scenario if he let her leave. "Luffy, Law and the others will take care of this, as I'm sure they've taken care of the other Heartless."

At his words, Robin seemed to remember something, her eyes lighting up before she hurried back inside the submarine. As this happened, Dextra also seemed to perk up, but her interest was caught by Law's name. She still looked eager to go charging the dragon, but at the mention of Law returned to a waiting position. Jimbei looked a bit confused by this.

"Only Captain can get her out of this state, Jimbei, honestly I'm surprised she's even bothering to listen to you." Penguin explained at the fishman's confused expression. "Ever since Dressrosa, when she becomes a harpy like this, she only obeys Law, and even that took a bit at first. She can't help it; it was just kind of… beaten into her."

Realizing the Heart Pirates all looked tense and fidgety about the topic, the Straw Hats all gulped and let the conversation drop. If what they were told was true, then all they could do was wait for Law.

"Maybe we better go help them." Franky replaced the cola in his fridge-stomach, recharging and ready for some more fighting.

"Ha, no way!" Nami denied immediately. She was not going anywhere near such a monster if she could help it. They saw it charge, fighting with at least someone way out in the city. "It's those three, Brook and Law, they'll be fine."

"And the Soul Reaper kid, he can make blizzards, they're good." Usopp added on, also not keen on taking on a dragon.

"But the dragon looks like it's made of ice." Franky pointed out to counter that Toshiro might not be as effective in this fight. The Heart Pirate engineers shared looks at this, a light going off in their minds.

Opposite of this, Nami waved her hand dismissively. "Then Sanji can take care of it just fine."

Though a little disappointed, Franky settled for continuing to guard the ship. After all, he told himself, there may be yet more Heartless that come their way. He wouldn't leave the Sunny unguarded.

A figure did come running towards them, but it was no Heartless.

"Law?" Nami recognized the tall figure, wondering why he was running so fast, with such an angry look.

The angry look turned to shock the moment he spotted Dextra, skidding to a stop close to Jimbei, the fishman still doing his best to keep her attention on him and away from the dragon. The harpy eagle immediately focused all of her attention on the Captain among them, her earlier predatory stance switching to a submissive bow in his presence, her head down.

"Captain!" Shachi exclaimed.

"We're sorry, Heartless were here, she just came out of the ship like that!" Penguin added.

"Heartless? Here?" Law was no less happy about that news, worried for those inside.

"They came towards us like a swarm, but none of them got past us!" Usopp allowed himself a proud stance as he told the ally Captain this. He did help, so some pride was warranted, but Nami couldn't help a roll of her eyes. "Ah, Luffy?"

"Wait, why are you all coming back?" Book spoke up from the doorway of the submarine as the rest of the Straw Hats returned to their group on the docks, looking back at the dragon which was clearly fighting SOMEONE. Shachi and Penguin were just looking between everyone in confusion. So much was going on. Law was back, so he could stop Dextra, but he had to come back for a different reason. And if they were all here…

"Hitsugaya is handling the dragon." Law voiced their conclusion aloud though not really answering any other questions, putting his attention on Dextra. "The Heartless in control of the Stigma is dead, I need all of you to start getting that cure out, and EVERYONE gets a dose. I'm not taking any chances."

"We'll help too!" Luffy spoke up happily. He didn't seem to notice Dextra's odd behavior, or rather, he chose to ignore it. He knew about it and frankly didn't want to mess with her the way she was now, that was her dad's job. Sanji and Zoro were a little tenser about it, and Brook chose to scooch over to his crew mates by the Sunny to give the harpy a wide berth, but they had other priorities.

Bepo was given the two children to hold onto while the engineers went inside to see how progress was going. Robin already had Chopper prepared, having understood their only obstacle left was gone and meeting the pair halfway out of the ship. Thursday had been given her dose and left inside in peace and quiet to sleep, tears streaming down her face in the silence. Even as the patches lifted from her skin and the pain eased from her body, the pain in her heart only grew sharper. Chopper felt helpless, not being able to cheer her up, but Robin made the right choice to gather up the cure and let her be for now.

As they set about making sure every Heart Pirate still waiting tense and nervous inside was given a dose to ensure they had absolutely no possible Stigma left, outside Law set about trying to bring Dextra out of her current persona.

"Are you certain Hitsugaya should be left on his own against such a monster?" Jimbei questioned the surgeon with some concern for the odd child.

"It's his dragon, even if we wanted to help he made it very clear he doesn't want any of us attacking him." Law responded stoically.

While the Straw Hats not present over at the fight all gaped at this information, Law was about to give the order for Dextra to cease her hostility when…


	21. Taming the Dragon and Harpy

"Watch out!"

Starting to wonder if anything was going to go his way on this island, Law turned back after the shout with a scowl and managed to jump out of the way just as something crashed on the ground near them. Dextra let out a sharp eagle cry and was ready to strike, wings spread and talons ready. A roar responded and they looked up to see Hyorinmaru come their way, a terrifying black shadow in the sky that landed once more in the open space of the docks near them. At the dragon's response, Dextra no longer looked ready to leap for the throat, sensing the heavy, threatening presence that demanded submission radiating from the Heartless like a pressure in the air. Hyorinmaru cared little for the bird that refused to bow, focused as he was on the figure that pushed himself back to standing.

"You're harder to fight in your full form, Hyorinmaru." Toshiro grunted as he wiped dirt from his face, using a short, small burst of Spirit Energy to clear the dust around him.

"Shiro!" Luffy called out to the figure. The rubber man had only used the nickname due to the boy's white hair, but Toshiro didn't seem to take kindly to it, distracted from the fight momentarily.

"Don't call me that!" He snapped at the figure. Luffy did backpedal a bit, startled at the reaction, as well as confused, but gasped as a heavy set of pitch black talons came launching down at the Reaper. Toshiro's focus was back in the fight in mere moments, lifting his zanpaktou to block the strike. The ground cracked from the force, but he held strong, managing to push back a bit even as the dragon put more weight down in an attempt to crush the figure.

"I got this!" Luffy grinned in determination, spinning his arm as he geared up for a punch.

Scowling fiercely, Toshiro managed enough strength to push his dragon's foreleg away, using the momentum to turn around. His Keyblade flashed to hand and with the momentum of his turn he tossed it so it struck the ground right in front of the Captain. Luffy gave a startled yelp and fell back as ice rose from where the Keyblade touched solid ground as if to make sure no attack went past.

"I said stay out of it!" Hitsugaya reminded the pirate angrily.

Hyorinmaru gave a loud roar that cut off any replies from the others, flaring his own wings in an impressive display of size. The sad remainder of people inside the town hid as far away as they could, cowering at the sounds. The citizens in the main town began to worry about their own safety. The Heart Pirates in the ship, as well as Chopper and Robin, all paled in terror at the fierce cry right next to their ship. Those just outside looked concerned for their safety as well.

Especially when the water started rising.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, not cool!" Usopp shrieked as blackened ice formed in spirals up from the ocean itself around them. Like snakes the spirals turned in towards the island and started to strike down.

" _Hado Number Fifty-eight, Tenran!_ " A quick Kido spell using a spinning Keyblade as the catalyst for the power, a blast of wind rushed past them all and removed the ice snakes from play. He would have told them to hold onto something, seeing them all stumble from the wind, but there had been no time. He had to get Hyorinmaru back away from them all. If only he hadn't been careless enough to get hit by his dragon's tail, they would still be well in the small town and keeping everyone out of danger. He thought of a way to lure Hyorinmaru from the area as the pirates worried about their ships swaying in the violent waters stirred up by the dragon's fury.

Snarling, the black ice dragon went for another strike, but instead of catching it this time the Nobody dodged aside. As he thought, the Heartless followed after him, easily led away from the others. However, Toshiro did keep him in range of the ocean. When even Hyorinmaru's tail wouldn't hit either ship, even just by accident, Toshiro blocked the next attack, pushing the talons to the side before jumping up to stand on an energy platform just in front of the Heartless. Pausing at the bold move, Hyorinmaru held still for a moment as he was now eye level with his challenger, an icy breath washing over Toshiro when the dragon opened his jaws slightly.

"I assume I need to once again prove my power to you to make you snap out of this state." His voice was confident, daring, the dragon's golden eyes narrowing at him. As the air grew heavy with Spiritual Pressure, dark wisps rose off the dragon's icy skin in response. Intimidation wasn't enough, but Toshiro already knew that. A dragon didn't back down in a battle of willpower. The water churned violently at their clashing auras.

Finally having enough of the small figure in his face, Hyorinmaru took a snap at his opponent, only for his jaws to crunch together on nothing but air, the sound of teeth hitting teeth echoing in the air like a gunshot. Toshiro had moved to be over the water and was already gathering it up around him, a swirling mass of dark blue ice rising up at his command. Letting out another menacing hiss, Hyorinmaru had no problem charging right at the floating Nobody, not afraid of his own element.

" _Icicle Flock!_ " A hailstorm of sharp, iron-solid ice spikes came at the dragon, but Hyorinmaru took as much notice to them hitting his body as a horse would flies, even as bits of ice fell off of his armor. Energy swelled up inside the dragon's mouth as he prepared to counter with a breath that would freeze anything and everything to sub-zero temperatures in seconds.

The wind picked up dramatically as the dragon got closer, generated by the swirling of ice around the Nobody using his Keyblade to manipulate the water as such. It threw off the dragon's flying a bit and his jaws shut to concentrate on keeping a steady flight path, the energy he'd been preparing vanishing in silvery wisps from within his mouth. Toshiro couldn't have a devastating blast of cold like that going anywhere.

Since he'd lost his chance at a breath attack, Hyorinmaru went for a straight up charge, only to slam into a barrier of ice as Toshiro put one up around him. Furious, his roar echoed through the town once more as he clawed at the ice. All the while the dark blue ice flowing around them constantly hailed down on the black body of the Heartless, a fierce storm thankfully kept over the ocean and away from the ships and buildings. The Straw Hat and Heart Pirates could only continue watching the pair fight, the sheer power the dragon displayed as it tore through ice as if it were only dirt a sight that made several gulp. The dinosaur Heartless had been a shock as their first sighting of the creatures, but Hyorinmaru put up a display of power far greater than that. It was hard to believe still that a young soul like Toshiro could control such a spirit.

Just as Hyorinmaru was about to break through, the barrier broke on its own, causing the Heartless to back away a bit to regain stable flight, though he didn't waste any time to charge forward again at the revealed figure of his challenger. Toshiro was prepared for him now though, his blade held forward with both hands and glowing once more as ice formed around the sword.

"Let this be the last time we have to do this, friend." Toshiro was less than happy about what he had to do. " _Ryusenka!_ "

Just like back with the giant dinosaur, a flower of dark blue ice sprouted from where his blade struck Hyorinmaru, covering them both. The wind dispersed as the swirling ice stilled and returned to the water below. For what felt like several minutes there was silence, nothing but the sound of shifting ice and splashing waves. Those outside watched with baited breaths, Chopper and Robin outside now as they'd finished their rounds inside, but stopping to observe the struggle. It was a strained silence, waiting to see what was the outcome of the large attack. Some even wondered if Toshiro had given up and destroyed his dragon.

The flower turned black.

"That doesn't look good." Sanji spoke up as a few others gulped nervously.

The flower shattered and Hyorinmaru spread his wings in a fearsome display, open jaws right above the small figure that was Toshiro.

But he didn't attack.

Toshiro stood calmly on air and lifted up a hand towards the beast, who leaned his head down and almost gently rested the tip of his snout against the small hand, mouth closed now and seeming to almost bow his head to the other. Seeing the giant dragon pay respect to the tiny opponent he had earlier been trying to crush and devour was an odd sight, but in a way quite stunning. The ocean and sky were beginning to calm down as the living blizzards stopped using their powers on their surroundings, a relief to anyone near water. All eyes watched as Toshiro jumped up onto the back of the dragon with no repercussion and Hyorinmaru himself flying back towards the ships.

Now that they weren't occupied with trying not to be blown away or drowned, the two crews did quick checks of their separate vessels for any damage. There were some superficial scratches from ice and some of that said ice stuck on the outsides, but otherwise nothing to be worried about. The Captain of the Heart Pirates, though, did still have something to worry about, as with the chaos of the nearby storm and fight he hadn't been able to calm down Dextra, the harpy still fixated on their Reaper companion as the figure returned. She at least obeyed when he gave a command not to attack, but it was clear she was not happy about the dragon or his master being near them.

The ground shook slightly as the powerful Heartless came to a landing on the docks, the wood creaking under his weight. Ice did not spread from the dragon's feet this time, as he was calm now and not lowering the temperature around him anymore.

"I told you I had this covered." Toshiro shot this comment at the younger Captain among the group, the one who had earlier tried to interfere.

"Your dragon is so cool!" Luffy practically had stars in his eyes and didn't seem bothered at the snarky remark.

Soaking in the praise, Hyorinmaru lifted his head proudly, apparently on better terms with all those present immediately. He was still a menacing sight, towering over them and their ships and his pitch black body not giving even the slightest shimmer despite the sun coming out and his body being made of ice. All light seemed to just vanish around the creature. However, they did feel better knowing Toshiro had him under control again… they hoped.

Said Nobody jumped down to stand with them below and the dragon leisurely lay himself out on the docks, preening his wings like a bird, using moisture on his tongue to smooth over chips in his icy body from the fight.

"He really does have quite the presence, doesn't he?" Jimbei mused with wonder. Toshiro had been very unassuming since they met him, other than his strong aura and what they'd been told by the others, but in stark contrast Hyorinmaru immediately took the spotlight and demanded respect and admiration. One could say that was just the type of presence a dragon gave off, especially a real one. The artificial dragon that a few of the crew had met on Punk Hazard looked like a hatchling compared to this monster.

One among them, however, did not take kindly to the two dark presences so close to her home, and Dextra jumped forward and took a pose as if to attack. Toshiro was rather surprised at first, both by the hostility and Dextra's form, but he wasn't a warrior for nothing, ice rising up ready to intercept. Hyorinmaru wasn't having any of that either, pausing in his cleaning to give an angry hiss at the girl.

"Dextra!" Law called out, worried the Heartless would counter if she went after Toshiro like she was.

"What the Hell is the matter, Dextra?" Toshiro snapped.

It was more the second shout that made her stop just before her talons lashed out, as if catching onto something when she got too close to the Nobody. He and the dragon both were once more giving off a powerful force from within, a cold, heavy presence that made the predator in her pause. She always attacked any she thought was a threat to her family, and her master Law, but their power... They, too, were Alpha predators like her Captain. Toshiro's comment may have been a legit question, wanting to know what was wrong, but his tone did not give room for ignoring him. He wanted to know why she was attacking him, and he wanted to know now. The dragon hovering above him, jaws open to snap her up the second she moved, added to the threat to make her back away again. It was like she could hear the voice of the Heartless, her Haki at full blast in this form.

' ** _Know your place!_** '

Unwillingly, she lowered her head to them, which made the others all gape. Law, however, had no time to question this behavior yet so he did what he'd meant to do before any of this all happened.

"Heel!" He snapped. Dextra's head snapped around to him and in seconds she was at his side like a loyal pet, awaiting his orders. Toshiro narrowed his eyes at the display, looking at Law suspiciously during this interaction. "Return, my princess."

With little hesitation the harpy returned inside the ship, ignoring all others around her watching with various degrees of discomfort, with Law himself seeming the most uncomfortable of them all. Toshiro was the first to speak up in the silence, clearly unhappy as he asked the surgeon his question.

"What happened to Dextra?" He asked sharply. Uninterested in the situation now that no one was threatening his master, Hyorinmaru just calmly returned to preening even as tension grew thick. "Why is she acting that way?"

"It's complicated." Law scowled in reply, avoiding the question.

"Is it? Seems to me you commanded her like a pet."

"Not by choice, it's the only way to snap her out of it."

"Out of what? She was a completely different person just now, what the hell is going on?"

"It's none of your business!"

The two refused to back down either way, Toshiro wanting answers for Dextra's obedient primal behavior and Law unwilling to reveal the reasons behind it. He didn't WANT to give the girl commands, especially not twisted little phrases like she was conditioned to obey, but if he didn't she would just get worse. Watching the two, the others were curious to hear the reasons as well, but knew Law better and could tell it wasn't something he at all enjoyed. They wondered why it had Toshiro so upset though.

The Nobody himself of course knew why he had a problem with it. Having been commanded to perform actions against his will since his transformation he knew it was not a position one naturally fell into. To get a human girl, even if in an odd half-eagle state, to obey commands like an animal definitely required some kind of manipulation or violent training, and the people who were the ones manipulating were people he hated most. As a Captain he expected obedience in his squad, but it was one of respect that he worked hard to earn with those men and women, he would never manipulate them as such, never expect blind acceptance of his every word.

"And here I thought the children trusted you out of actual respect for you, I'm starting to get the impression it's a little more forced." The Nobody hissed.

"You better stop right there, Nobody." Law snapped back, bristling at the accusation he did anything harmful to his children. He wouldn't accept a quip like that after all he had been through.

Darkness flared over the small form of the other as ice slowly spread from his feet.

"I think it's about time everyone calmed down." Jimbei spoke firmly in an attempt to diffuse the tension, but it was clear neither one of the other two were listening. The biting chill in the air made them nervous as even Hyorinmaru gave a low rumble of irritation. If his master was so irritated, should he just kill the offender?

Fortunately, someone running back out from the submarine caught their attention enough to keep any fights from breaking out. Unfortunately, the despair on Dextra's face did not bode well, and while Law was glad to see she was back to her usual self he stiffened at the tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes were darting around at her surroundings almost fearfully; something had given her quite the fright, which was a very rare occurrence since her 'training'.

"Dextra, what's wrong?" Law asked, his tone holding none of the hostility he'd been bearing towards Toshiro, soft and concerned instead. Still suspicious, Toshiro watched the exchange in stiff silence to await the answer as well. Did she feel some kind of fear of Law after her behavior? He couldn't be sure quite yet, now that this new information had been presented to him.

"I… I killed…" She seemed to have a hard time getting the words out, reaching a quick hand up to wipe away tears. Closest to her, Robin knelt down and put a gentle hand on the girls back. The older woman's face gave an idea she knew what Dextra was trying to say.

"You had to kill the Heartless, it's okay sis." Book said to her reassuringly. He knew she hated having to kill, it gave her nightmares all the time, but they were monsters that everyone was fighting.

He was surprised, however, when she shook her head fiercely. Drawing in a big breath of air, she got out what she wanted to say in one quick exhale.

"I killed Heinrich!"


	22. The Aftermath

The startled silence left behind at Dextra's confession was thicker than mud, covering them all and causing their thoughts to slow, focused only on her words. Chopper was looking at the ground and sniffling, Robin's expression was grave as she just kept her hand comfortingly on Dextra's back. They knew what had happened. They knew there was nothing to be done about it now.

"W-What?" Book was first to break through the silence, voice shaking with shock.

"I tried to give him the cure, but he turned into a Heartless." Chopper explained hoping Dextra wouldn't have to, and that if they knew why she did it she wouldn't get in any trouble. If anything the reindeer boy blamed himself for not waiting until the queen Heartless was killed. "She was protecting Thursday when he went after her. I-It's not her fault, I didn't make sure it was okay!"

Law didn't say anything, just looked to be in a state of shock. Heinrich… got turned into a Heartless? Because they hadn't killed the Heartless fast enough? Not saying anything, he rushed past them and into the submarine. No one stopped him, looking downcast. Toshiro could only close his eyes and mentally cursed. If only he hadn't let himself get handicapped in the fight, it would have gone down a lot quicker. It had outsmarted them, and even with their victory, they still lost. Yes, it was good the Heartless never got anyone else inside the small confines of the ship, but letting it appear in the first place was entirely their own fault for not killing the boss faster.

The silence continued once again except for Dextra's sniffles, her twin and the younger boy Daniel coming over to hug her as Robin stood by in a protective, motherly stance. Bepo's head fell in silence. Other than their archeologist, the Straw Hats kept aside to give the Heart Pirates some space.

"Well shit, this sucks." Sanji kicked at the ground as he cursed, knocking a small stone way out into the water where they couldn't even see it touch back down. "We should at least get started on getting that cure out, if there's anyone left."

"Right, you guys should definitely get it first." Chopper pulled his mind away from the submarine to focus on his job, turning to his crew mates. "You guys were fighting the Heartless, you need it now."

"Nah, the Reaper kid took care of that, we all already got some of the cure." Zoro countered with a wave of his hand, motioning for the reindeer to get to the rest of the Straw Hats first.

"What, how?" The tiny doctor looked confused.

"Oh yeah, it was real cool, Torao only had this one little bottle of it, but then Shiro turned it into snow and it covered all of us." Luffy excitedly retold what had happened back in the fight. "All the black stuff went away and then we could kill the Heartless. Or, well, his dragon kinda did that before we could."

Hyorinmaru just gave a snort in response as the rubber man laughed, casual as could be.

"Turned it to snow? Is that what those greenish clouds from before were?" Nami questioned, remembering the odd formation she had seen over where the boys had been fighting.

"Yes." Toshiro was the one who answered this time, regrettably making use of his new, hollow state to pull himself away from the grief of not being able to save one of the orphans and focus on the problem still at hand. After all, he couldn't let anymore share that fate if he could help it, the Heartless would no longer have a place here. "I can do it again, it would be faster than trying to find everyone in this town, especially with that amount."

"If you can really do that, the help is appreciated!" Chopper rushed over and handed over the large bottle into the Nobody's outstretched hand.

"Also, you." Toshiro pointed at Luffy who tilted his head in confusion. "Don't call me Shiro. Ever."

"But your hair is mostly white, it fits." Luffy just grinned and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sorry kid, once he picks a nickname it sticks." Sanji gave a more sympathetic shrug to prove there wasn't much to be done about it now.

"Only one person is allowed to call me by that nickname." The Nobody responded, making the cook look back at him curiously. "And honestly… I don't know if she'll ever get to again. So I don't care about his habits, he's not allowed to call me that. In my home nicknames are for very close friends, you haven't earned that right."

"Ohhh." To the surprise of his crew, Luffy seemed to understand. The rubber man had picked up on something in the Nobody's expression as he was explaining all this to them, something he could relate to. That name was attached to someone close to their new friend. "How about Ryuu?"

Toshiro glanced at Hyorinmaru then back at Luffy with an annoyed expression.

"No." He said firmly. While the other was at least agreeing to stop using the more special nickname, one that sent a knife in his heart, nonexistent as it currently was, every time he heard it, his beliefs still stood that nicknames weren't allowed for someone you barely knew.

"Snowman?"

"Definitely not."

"Oh! How about-"

"No nicknames!"

"Luffy can we worry about this later and let him focus on getting the cure out!" Nami finally got fed up with the sudden squabble and smacked her Captain roughly upside the head. No one seemed at all surprised at the action, though Toshiro did, his brief annoyance over the nicknames lifting. Silly as he was, he was still Captain, yet it seemed like his crew ran the show and just had a hard to control child in charge. Not to mention they hit him, he couldn't imagine anyone doing that among the Heart Pirates. Even the sillier Captains of his fellow Soul Reapers back home would never have a hand landed on them by their subordinates. Well, except maybe one, but it was his Lieutenant that did it, and he had a fatherly soft spot for her anyway.

"Go on, Toshiro, everyone is probably super scared still, let's help them feel better." Chopper was looking up at the Nobody with big eyes of anticipation as if waiting for a magician to show his new magic trick.

Though not quite comfortable in the spotlight as everyone looked at him again, Toshiro kept his head high and summoned the Keyblade Frozen Heavens to hand, ignoring the odd comments from the Straw Hats about its sudden appearance and weird shape.

"I'd advise standing back… it's going to get a bit windy." He warned them. Chopper trotted his way backwards towards the others but otherwise no one moved. Well, he gave them warning, he trusted they were fine.

He set the jar on the ground in front of him and held the tip of the Keyblade at the edge, choosing to be less destructive with this one as he had back in the battle. The liquid took on a soft glow and began to swirl inside its container, as did the wind around the small figure, temperature dropping. With an almost practiced ease, Toshiro lifted the weapon above his head and the liquid followed. As it was tossed in the vortex of air soaring higher and higher, the cure seemed to expand before their eyes, a forming mass of greenish-gray snow carried high into the clouds. Heads leaned back the pirates watched the light spread through the darkened clouds like colored drops in water, giving the world beneath them a blanket of green.

Then, with one smooth motion downward, the clouds dropped their new baggage. Light green flakes began to fall softly from the heavens over the town. Chopper watched it all with the same awe he had for the pink snow he'd seen back on his home island, the glorious image of a sakura tree on an island normally bleached of all colors. He gingerly held out his hooves for the flakes to fall on him, watching as it immediately dissolved through his fur, feeling a cold, refreshing wave run through his limbs and make him feel relaxed. Nami watched everything with a more calculating, observant gaze, but was fascinated all the same. This was unlike her own man-made storms… it still felt natural, real, only out of place of the regular behavior of the area. Her combat ready abilities were no joke, she could summon lightning on command when necessary, but it would take a lot more tinkering before her climatact could control nature at the same magnitude as this reaper could. If anything, that thought made her more determined. She may not have a massive other-worldy power, but she had science, and she was ready to push it to the limit.

While Usopp and Luffy danced like children in the snow, Toshiro looked over the town. He could see people stepping out of their run down, neglected homes, curious about the gentle snow after the onslaught of darkness and the roar of a monster on a rampage. The moment one of the still infected people stepped out and let the green flakes melt over their skin, the black patches once causing them pain began to lift from their skin. They felt revived, refreshed, and cured. It was a miracle!

The cheers slowly rose up among the people and echoed through the town. It was then Toshiro felt he could finally relax, letting out a sigh of relief. This island was finally free of Heartless and could hopefully begin to recover, though the ones lost even he couldn't do anything about. Remembering Heinrich… he kept his gaze sullenly to the ground.

"Hot damn, this SUPER snow feels ripe with joy!" Franky crooned to the sky, manly tears on his face as he heard the cheers of hope and safety among the city.

"It was certainly a great help, and probably saved more than us going out on foot would have." Jimbei agreed a little less dramatically.

There was a rumble from Hyorinmaru, a lot less happy with the snow. Since he was currently a Heartless, the cure for a Heartless disease did not feel very comforting to him.

"I'm sorry, friend, it's a short fall at least." Toshiro said to the beast, lifting a hand up. Hyorinmaru eagerly put his head down to touch his nose to the hand. He would put up with the annoyance for now, he was simply happy to have found his master, if apologetic for the way he acted upon their reunion. "It's alright, it's my own fault for running off, I probably deserved that rage."

"Whoa, hey, you can understand him?" Luffy seemed to zap over to the Nobody's side in seconds.

"Of course, he's my partner." Toshiro responded. Hyorinmaru gave a growl but a pat on the nose seemed to quiet it. Luffy either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Oh, but I can't hear him, I can usually hear animals speak." Chopper joined them with a curious gaze.

The dragon looked down at the reindeer. It wasn't an angry or hungry gaze as before, but curious. His jaws opened and for a moment Chopper was afraid of being eaten, but his own jaw dropped next instead.

" **I was not speaking before, but rather projecting, and only my Master may hear my thoughts.** " The deep voice only Chopper and Toshiro heard matched the throaty growl all the others heard.

"Oh! Telepathy?" Chopper was instantly intrigued and wanted to know more, not as threatened as he was a moment ago since the dragon seemed fine speaking to him.

" **Yes. Unlike most of the lower Heartless, my spirit is strong and I retain most of myself… if with the occasional regression.** "

"Like I said, I probably deserved it." Toshiro gave a defeated sigh.

" **Partly, for sure, stubborn Master.** " The dragon gave a snort to let cold air blow over the Nobody's head. Toshiro grumbled something under his breath as he tried to run a hand through his messed up hair and fix it, trying and failing to ignore Luffy's laughter.

"I don't know what he said but you guys are funny friends, Shishishi!" The Captain giggled.

He stopped laughing as he found himself promptly lifted up off the ground. Hyorinmaru had grabbed him by the back of his shirt and brought him high up off the ground.

"H-Hyorinmaru… what are you doing?" Toshiro could only look on in confusion.

"Ah! Please don't eat Luffy!" Chopper shouted pleadingly, startled by the dragon's actions.

"Ah. Are you going to eat me?" Far less concerned with the idea, Luffy just looked the dragon in the eye. It was hard to tell what that golden gaze said, but the rubber man had a feeling he wasn't in any danger.

An odd, purr-like sound rose up from the dragon's throat and Luffy got a sudden chill over his body before promptly being dropped. After hitting the ground, he realized he was now apparently covered in a layer of frost.

"C-c-c-c-cold!" Sitting up, Luffy let out an exhale of misty breath as he shivered to warm himself back up.

' ** _As enticing as his heart is, there is too much rubber in the way, he would not be pleasant to chew._** ' Hyorinmaru rumbled in amusement within his master's mind as he watched the tiny reindeer boy rush over to his Captain and try to brush the frost off.

' _What's with your playful attitude all of a sudden?'_ Toshiro wondered, still confused as to why the dragon felt the need to pick up the pirate and partly freeze him. He would say he'd never seen his dragon act this way before, but considering he was usually within his own soul and the moment he'd become a Heartless had been locked in battle, he wasn't sure how to feel about it. After all, his dragon was a mischievous one just with Toshiro himself, perhaps that was brought out more as a Heartless with other people around. He still held a posture of power and respect, but the large icy tail was slowly moving across the ground in a content manner.

Choosing not to join in with the playful ones around her, Dextra instead shuffled her way quietly over to Robin, who knelt down and accepted the girl in a hug. Nami sidled over as well and gave a gentle pat on her head. The boys were easily distracted, but they understood she wasn't up for that. Sanji, however, approached and offered the eagle child a sweet snack of her choice he could make himself, and the three Straw Hats silently took the girl over with them to the boat so she could get away from the rambunctious group. Jimbei watched with a sad expression; it almost seemed cruel for his friends to be so cheerful when the Heart Pirates had taken a heavy loss.

The snow stopped falling and the clouds cleared away, people milling through the streets once more with new energy to begin repairing any damage done. They were wary of Hyorinmaru's impressive form, but once assured he was currently docile, the townspeople showered the two crews with what goods they could spare. The Straw Hats surprised their odd companion with a humble nature as they refused to take credit for the magic snowfall, and soon Toshiro found himself having to refuse gift after gift, uncomfortable taking anything from people who had lost so much, never having been given such huge thanks for doing something he was just expected to do back home. Chopper was also showered with affection as one of the doctors to make the cure, Law still somewhere in his ship, and the reindeer child was blushing madly and giggling eagerly at the candy given to him by the other children as their thanks.

Noticing the Nobody was growing more and more uncomfortable at the continued attention, Jimbei came forward in rescue.

"If you'll excuse us for a moment, kind people, I'm sure our young friend is quite tired and is in need of rest." The fishman said politely to the crowd with a smile. He looked at Toshiro to see if the Nobody was playing along, and was greeted with a grateful glance and a nod.

"I suppose he would, it was indeed an impressive ability, I'm sure you're exhausted." An elderly woman agreed with the pirate, bowing her head one last time as thanks before shooing off the younger generations around her.

"I thought I was never going to get away." Toshiro let out an exasperated sigh once they left.

"You looked rather skittish, I thought I might extend a helping hand." Jimbei chuckled. He still remembered just what this much smaller figure was, but seeing a Reaper in such a struggle made him much less threatening, and so it was becoming easier for Jimbei to think of their companion as just another poor soul rather than a warrior of death.

"I wouldn't say skittish, just uncomfortable… but thank you." To Jimbei's further surprise, Toshiro bowed his head slightly in thanks. He showed respect to others, how humble, it would definitely be much easier to get along with him than the impression they first had of him.

With a slight movement from Jimbei motioning for the other to follow, Toshiro did so and the pair headed towards the Sunny slowly as they continued to talk.

"I suppose you're only used to working with the dead, then, if people put you off guard?" The fishman asked curiously, wanting to know more about the mysterious boy.

"Again, I'm not so much put off guard as just not used to being thanked." Toshiro corrected. He felt a little better talking to Jimbei, who exuded a 'gentle giant' kind of aura and was definitely saner than some of his crew members, a sensible mindset the Nobody could latch onto for decent conversation. "A Soul Reaper is for the most part unseen by the living, so yes our efforts generally go unnoticed. Even if they were, I doubt people would be inclined to like us all that much. Stopping corrupt souls and saving others is just part of our job… so we don't usually get this much attention and thanks once we're done. Just a 'good job' and paperwork."

"It sounds like saving people as a job isn't terribly rewarding." The Fishman mused.

"To be fair anything turned into a job isn't always rewarding. But, every now and then, the soul saved gives genuine appreciation for the help. To them you're not doing a job, you're a hero, and to many Soul Reapers that occasional gratitude is enough to make it worth it."

"You don't sound like you believe in that quite as much."

Toshiro's gaze went to the ground. He had spent more time as a Soul Reaper than these people have probably been alive – except for maybe the skeleton – so he had seen less of grateful souls and more of the hate and greed within those souls that make them monsters to begin with. The reason he kept up his role was less about that rare thanks and more to keep his world together. He had seen Aizen and his rise to power, the danger presented if they didn't do their jobs, even knew of the centuries ago war with the Quincies whose power destroyed precious souls and could destroy their world if left unchecked. There was no grace to their work, they weren't heroes, they only did what they had to do to maintain a balance, even slaughtering an entire race. After all, if they were in it for saving people, why not go to Hueco Mundo where the Hollows live and destroy them all? It wasn't because they didn't have the manpower. It was because it was impossible to get rid of the Hollows. Every human soul could become a Hollow, and eventually once defeated, those Hollows would become a new human. Soul Reapers were just there to keep the cycle going. Hollows were necessary, and so were the deaths of many souls.

They weren't heroes, so he felt wrong to be thanked like one.

"There's a reason people fear the name Reaper." Was all he said in response, going silent afterwards.

Jimbei frowned hearing those words. Of course, what the other said was true, the title of Reaper came with heavy implications of death, whether there to bring death or guide those already dead, seeing a Reaper was an ill omen and usually meant something bad was about to happen. Toshiro was one such being living that life, and he seemed to see only that same stigma around himself, that he was doing a job no one wanted him to do.

They approached the Thousand Sunny and both decided to change topics.

"I have to say, having seen pirates before, I would never expect a ship like this to carry any." The small figure noted aloud.

"It's certainly an odd vessel." Jimbei agreed with an amused chuckle. "But the one who made it put his full heart into it, and those it carries consider it just another member of their crew. In this world, a pirate ship isn't just a boat, it is the most important comrade you will ever have. I may be the newest member of the Straw Hats, but I know how much they care for every member, even the Sunny herself."

Intrigued, Toshiro looked over the ship with a more careful eye. Each board was placed with precision, the metal kept and clean. The mast was sturdy, the sails it harbored proudly bearing their pirate symbol like a badge. The lion head at the front of the ship held proudly forward, ready to take on the world. As he looked over the care and detail put into it, Toshiro thought he could feel something else. He could tell the fishman wasn't joking, the care the pirates had for this ship seemed to shine through and give the vessel its own personality.

A shimmery image held in front of his vison. It was brief, and when he blinked it was gone, but he had no doubts about the child-like figure bearing a rain coat and a hammer smiling down at him for that mere second of time.

"Oh? Perhaps you saw it?" Jimbei had noticed the Nobody's sudden focus on one part of the ship, having been watching his appreciation of the ship with a grin.

"…Yes. What was that?" Toshiro turned curiously to the fishman. "I've seen a lot of things in a lot of worlds, but I have never seen a ship carry a spirit."

"Legends call them Klabautermann. They are like water spirits or fairies that cling to a ship well cared for by its crew. The older members of this crew, or rather those who first joined, believe it is the spirit of their former ship, the Going Merry, watching over them through the Sunny. Usopp still loves to tell the story of how Merry came to save them when they needed her most, even though she would never sail again afterwards. Franky, our shipwright, used pieces from her to build the Sunny in honor of her courage and will to sail with them."

"That's… it is quite the tale. If I hadn't already seen many impossible things, I wouldn't believe it, but…" Toshiro offered a small smile to the ship. "I would like to hear that story. This spirit sounds like a great companion."

"It is curious you saw the spirit. I wonder if you're affiliation with water has anything to do with it."

Deciding he wanted to know what they were talking about, Hyorinmaru causally made his way over, leaning his head over top of them to get a look at the rest of the ship. There was grass growing on the main floor, and a garden, bearing flowers, food and an odd assortment of flora that looked more ready to fight someone than be preened. Nami gave a start at the black dragon looming over the ship, sitting outside with Robin and Dextra as their cook was busy inside.

"You're a little big you know!" She shouted up to the creature. Indeed, Hyorinmaru's head alone could barely rest atop the ship with the mast in the way, let alone his entire icy body. He was taking up most of the docks as it was.

"That… is going to be a problem." Toshiro sighed, thinking about their situation. He was intensely grateful to have Hyorinmaru back, but his size was too much for either ship to take, and it would be unfair to expect the dragon to fly or swim alongside them constantly. Not to mention future islands would not welcome the sight of him. Perhaps it had been too soon for the Heartless to discover him.

Hyorinmaru looked down at his master at his words before looking at himself. He was not quite accustomed to a physical form and had not thought about the problems remaining as his true form. However, in his mind, this was an easy fix. He had done it before, after all, in a world where his master and companions had been turned into lions and he had been forced to become a physical entity since his master could no longer wield a sword with paws.

Spreading his wings, Hyorinmaru stood to his full and terrifying height as shadows rose from his body, startling those around him. Was the dragon up to something bad again? Looking to Toshiro for clues on his behavior, they noticed he seemed curious but not worried, and so decided to watch and wait.

Right before their eyes, the dragon shrank!

In moments, the once enormous figure of the black dragon was barely larger than a house cat, flitting through the air to perch around his master's neck and shoulders like he belonged there. The shadows from his transformation dispersed into a humid wind around them, no longer needed to form the giant icy body.

"Ah, I see, just like you did back in the Pride Lands." Toshiro was impressed with his companion, reaching a hand up to pet the creature like a pet, whereas Jimbei had to consciously remember to close his mouth. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by the white-haired figure. "What? He's an ice dragon, he can return to his normal size as long as there's water around, he doesn't have a form of flesh like the rest of us."

"If you speak of it in such a casual manner, I suppose it must be obvious, but it's still quite the surprise." The fishman replied, clearing his throat to get rid of the tone of shock. "A-Anyway, with that situation figured out… I can show you onto the Sunny if you two would like a tour?"

"Much appreciated."


	23. Resting on the Thousand Sunny

The day was reaching noon, and the pirates had abandoned the dock to their ships, all the noise and clamor on the Sunny now. Jimbei had given Toshiro a basic look around the ship, the fishman amused at how intrigued Toshiro was by it all. The only pirate ships he knew were ones from his world's history and those of the Caribbean pirates at Port Royal, a world he held no fond memories of as Davy Jones had tried to come after him. In both cases they held no similarities to the lively vessel he now stood on, with a lively crew that would make Jack Sparrow give up his profession.

Before everyone had come on board, Toshiro had stopped by Dextra and offered his apologies for what happened to Heinrich. She had a small frosty of a drink in her hands made by Sanji himself, who now catered to the older women in his odd, flourishing manner as he made an effort to leave Dextra be.

"None of us could have known the Stigma was as active as it was." Robin was the one to respond in a soft tone. "It is neither the fault of you or the others fighting the Heartless, Chopper who gave the medicine or Dextra herself who attacked. Everyone was just doing what they could, and unfortunately it can't always go right. In fact, it could have been Thursday who got it first, but somehow Heinrich knew to step in. It could have been either one of them to take the fall."

"I understand some things are beyond our control, but I already knew the Heartless was controlling the Stigma to an extent due to how it reacted when I tried to heal Dennis before, and how it stopped me from being able to fight for a brief time. All it would have taken was a warning to wait until we killed it before giving out the cure." Toshiro gave his argument, and why he felt he had to apologize.

"And we should have known about it when Dennis transformed first." Robin countered with a shake of her head. "If there is to be blame, then all of us who were in that room are to blame, not just you. There was simply too much happening and too much at stake already for any of us to remember."

"Thursday hates me though." Dextra piped up with a small voice, causing the two to turn towards her. "When I… changed back, I went to see her. She screamed at me…" She gave a light sniffle and Toshiro looked away uncomfortably; he never knew what to do to make children feel better. "I killed a brother. And she liked him a lot. So I'm just a murderer."

"You only did what you had to do to protect her, eventually she'll see that." Toshiro couldn't tell if he said that for her or himself, remembering some of the terrible things he himself had done, or tried to do, in order to protect a person he saw as family. "Eventually…"

Robin cast the Reaper a curious glance, not missing the odd distance in that teal gaze as the other spoke, but she wisely didn't push it any further. Bad memories were best left alone unless they directly affected others around them, and for now they didn't, so he should be allowed to keep his privacy. They barely knew him after all. All she could assume was he'd been put in a similar tight spot before as Dextra was now trapped in.

Though he wanted to ask about her odd behavior as a harpy, he felt he had upset her enough reminding her of Heinrich and left her be to finish the tour. Then, before he could entertain the idea of trying again, the Straw Hats had returned to their ship and brought their cheer with them. Despite having been up through an entire night, they were full of energy and spirit.

Toshiro made to head to the submarine, since that was the crew he was currently traveling with, specifically for Law's powers, but the cheery group wouldn't allow him to leave until he had lunch with them, demanding he would love Sanji's food and that he must be starving after all the energy he used. While the latter was true, his stomach even grumbling loudly to give him away to his utter embarrassment, he looked over the array of dishes with hesitation. It looked delicious, he couldn't deny that, it just wasn't… familiar. He usually kept to lighter meals and teas, choosing to just eat as much as he needed to keep himself going, but the plates upon plates of dishes on the table looked like a feast meant to stuff yourself full to bursting. He found that odd, using so much food when the intention was normally to save it for the long trips between islands, but once he saw Luffy eating… well, it wasn't hard to understand why there was so much.

That rubbery, Straw Hat wearing Captain could EAT. The Nobody wasn't sure if it was because even his stomach was rubber and so would never feel full, or there was some kind of black hole at the end sucking it up, but Luffy packed food in like he would never see any again for months. His crew mates were practically locked in a battle with him, trying to protect their plates from his stretching hands. Overall it wasn't an environment Toshiro was all that comfortable in, so even though his stomach growled and the smells tantalized his nose, he declined the offer to stay and tried once more to leave.

He staggered a bit as he attempted to walk away, Hyorinmaru jumping to the ground and looking up at him in concern.

"Whoa, hey, you're definitely not looking good." Nami was the one to steady him as she was closest, only Brook and Usopp gathered with her as the three trying to get their small guest to join them for lunch. Pulling her hand back, the navigator noticed something surprising. "You're still bleeding!"

At the exclamation, Chopper joined them in a flash.

"I… guess I forgot about that." Toshiro spoke with a hiss of pain as he reached up to his shoulder. The wound from his fight with the Heartless was no longer bleeding as freely, probably why it had remained unnoticed, but now that adrenaline was wearing off and he was reminded of its presence, it throbbed painfully.

"Here, I can treat it! Let's go to my room!" Chopper was no longer interested in his own meal as he had a patient to worry about, which immediately made Toshiro feel bad.

"I'm fine, really, I can heal it up." He was lying, he barely had the energy to make some frost on the floor, but he wasn't a fan of sitting still in hospital beds, even if not in an actual hospital, and even less of a fan of being a burden.

However, the several days of little to no sleep, using so much energy in the fight – between the curing snow and fighting off the Stigma to get his abilities back he had used up a lot, adding on to that his fight with Hyorinmaru – and also having skipped several meals, Toshiro's body would no longer listen to him. With a tired sigh he stumbled once more, a concerned Nami catching him. He was heavier than she would have expected for his size, but considering he was a fighter wasn't too surprised, he would be mostly muscle. The others at the table, even Luffy, paused in eating to watch with concern.

As much as he cursed his weakness, as soon as his vision went blurry he knew he couldn't keep refusing help or he would get worse, and that was the last thing he needed if he wanted to fix his condition and get back at those who had made him this way. So, he didn't argue when Chopper asked Nami to help him to his room, and just did his best to get there as much by himself as he could.

"I'm not sure how much of an appetite he'll have at the moment, but I'm sure once Chopper gets our friend feeling better he could use a meal." Robin turned to the cook with a knowing grin. "One away from the crowd, even."

"If that's your wish, my Robin!" Sanji obliged to her hints and made a mental note to get the child a meal for later.

Chopper's room, which served as the infirmary as well, was much smaller than the one on the submarine with the Heart Pirates. He supposed that was due to the other Captain being a doctor, most of his focus went to his work. However, the one on the Sunny felt… warmer. It wasn't the sterile metal room like in the submarine, it wasn't the clean washed halls of the hospital he knew from his home. It was a little wooden room with a single bed that Nami helped him sit on. It didn't smell strongly of cleaners or strong medicine, but of herbs and grasses, signs of a healer rather than a doctor. It was rather soothing. He didn't feel as immediately restless or uncomfortable in this room as he had with others. Though his mind still dizzy and muddled, he watched Chopper work away at his counter before jumping over to him with a warm rag to clean around the wound. A cold salve was pressed over the open area to ease the pain and start the healing process, Toshiro letting in a sharp intake of breath at the brief sting. Once that was done, a bandage went over it and he was asked to rest.

"Alright, we'll get you some food as soon as you wake up, okay?" Nami dared to pat the boy's head as she told him this with a cheerful tone.

To her fortune, Toshiro didn't respond to the childish way she treated him, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Thanks…" He said instead with a drowsy tone. "Thanks, Rangiku."

"Rangiku? Who is – oh!" Though at first confused by the name, the navigator was surprised when Toshiro fell to the side right onto her. He was completely asleep, so instead of throwing him off like she would other guys, since he happened to be just the right height for his head to rest on her more than ample chest, she just sighed, patted his head again, and laid him down properly on the bed. Hyorinmaru promptly jumped up and laid himself over top of his master like a little guard dog. "I wonder who he was talking to…"

"Maybe he thought he was home? Rangiku must be a friend of his, maybe you reminded him of her and it slipped out since he was tired."

"Maybe. Either way, let's leave him alone, we can tell Law he's here later." Nami smiled at her reindeer friend and followed him out of the room, turning back to glance curiously at their guest before she left. He had curled up a bit in his sleep, breathing softly. His expression didn't look as angry or distressed as it had been the whole time they had seen him, his brows no longer furrowed, and it took off a lot of that wisdom and coldness he bared, making him look more his age. Like the others she knew next to nothing about the Reaper, but it was as if finally getting to sleep took several tons of weight off the boy's shoulders, and she couldn't imagine what must always be on his mind to put it there. "Poor guy."

With the lights turned off, she left back to her companions.

Things calmed down after lunch aboard the Sunny. The only Heart Pirate that still remained with them was Dextra, as all the other had gone inside the submarine and remained there, doing what they weren't sure. Chopper periodically checked up on his new patient while the girls tried to keep Dextra's mind off the morning's events.

It wasn't until the sky was starting to turn orange into the next night that Law himself finally left his ship and walked towards the Sunny. The dark circles under his eyes from long hours awake looked darker than ever, and there was an odd glaze to his eyes that warned them he wasn't all there, a slouch to his posture signaling just how tired and stressed he really was. He usually never showed such weariness where others could see.

"Hey Torao! We still got some food if you want any!" Luffy waved his ally up cheerfully, as usual he didn't seem to notice the difference in Law's mood, in anyone's mood really. Off to the side, Dextra hid behind Robin.

"We're stocked up just fine, Straw Hat, I just came to get Dextra and Hitsugaya." Even the surgeon's voice betrayed a hoarse tone they had never heard from him before. "The Log pose has set, it's time we left."

"The dragon tamer is sleeping, looked like he needed it." Zoro replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Chopper fixed up the big hole in his shoulder."

"You look like you could use some sleep yourself, Law, you sure you want to be heading out yet?" Brook questioned the tall man cautiously.

"There's no point in staying…" Law just sighed, really not wanting to argue with them right now.

"I'd prefer to stay here." Dextra spoke up next and the surgeon tensed at her words.

"Dextra-"

"Nobody wants me over there!"

Seeing Law flinch at her shout, the Straw Hats all shared awkward glances.

"That's not true, and we're not leaving without you." He assured her. The small girl gave no answer and turned away, sticking next to Robin. "Dextra…"

"Might I suggest we do some traveling together?" Since the pair weren't going to agree, Jimbei spoke up as a mediator with hopefully a good solution. Dextra clearly needed some space of her own from her family, and the older orphan girl would probably need time away from Dextra. It was best to keep them separate. "Sir Hitsugaya needs his rest as well, we'll make sure he's taken care of, and Dextra is in good hands as well."

"We did get here shortly after you, our Log Poses will hopefully synch up to the same place." Nami added on while looking at the object on her wrist.

"Hitsugaya isn't exactly easy to handle." Law warned with a heavy sigh, already seeming to give up. After all, if they were offering, and they did indeed end up going the same way, he didn't have the energy to argue. It still pained him that Dextra refused to return home, but he could hardly blame her. Thursday was a mess when he reunited with her at the infirmary and made it very clear she couldn't trust the eagle girl right now, even if she was sorry for yelling at her.

"Nah, he can't be that bad." Luffy replied with a grin. Though aware of his uncanny ability to judge one's character pretty well, some of his crewmates did not share his carefree opinion of the Nobody.

"He might do better on your ship anyway, since it doesn't submerge, he doesn't handle heat well at all. Just keep an eye out… if the ice is black, keep your distance."

"If it's black? It changes colors?" Usopp asked curiously.

"Yeah we never did get a full intro on the guy." Sanji put his word in as he let out some smoke from his cigarette in a slow breath.

"Ask him, he'd be more accurate than Shachi and Penguin." Law just waved his hand dismissively and returned to his ship.

They all watched him go for a second before turning to talk amongst themselves, some completely unrelated to the current events as they felt it was none of their business. Jimbei walked over to where Dextra stood by Robin and patted the small child's head.

"You can help us watch over our guest then? I'm sure you know more than we do." He spoke to her with a calm tone and a smile, which Dextra was grateful for, as it wasn't a patronizing adult-to-child tone, just calming.

She gave a small nod.

"Papa's right about the black ice, it means he's upset and not in control. The necklace he's got helps with that." She explained to any close by to listen. "If he has to talk about something he doesn't like from his past or feels we're pestering him too much he kind of snaps, but he can't help it. The darkness is messing with his head."

"Darkness?"

Feeling a little more confident with the curious questions of the Straw Hats rather than the accusing curses of her older orphan sibling, Dextra explained what she felt she was allowed to say about their new guest. Nami held an accusing gaze on Luffy since she felt the Captain would make the Nobody the most uncomfortable and just prayed nothing went wrong. When questions came about the dragon, all she could say was that Hyorinmaru was like Toshiro's other half, and with Law's help they were trying to find a way to return to whole. She had only just met the dragon same as them, and she could still remember that powerful voice from before. Hyorinmaru's absolute dominance had briefly snapped her out of her other personality enough to make her wary of the creature.

"So that huge dragon is like his inner self?" Franky asked with an awed tone. "But he's such a little guy!"

"And that sword we saw was how he manifested that power." Zoro was most interested in this tidbit of information. "A full on spirit inside a sword, now that's something interesting."

"Oh hey, did he ever mention someone named Rangiku?" Nami asked the Heart Pirate.

Dextra shook her head, nothing but confusion on her face.

"He's never really told us about anyone from his home, not by name. Well, except this guy called Aizen, but it's REALLY bad to talk about him to Toshiro. Apparently this guy did something terrible to him." She further explained.

"Oh, is that what happened to Shachi?" Usopp remembered the engineer mentioning how he almost got speared mentioning a touchy moment in Toshiro's past in the Nobody's presence.

"Shachi made a bad joke and I think it hit something too close to home, Toshiro got very, very mad." The eagle girl confirmed. "And it did involve that guy so yes."

"Oh! Log Pose set!" Nami grinned as she checked her wrist again. "Let's forget about that guy then if he's so bad and get moving. Who wants to go tell Law?"

"I'm going to check on Hitsugaya." Chopper replied to the offer, heading up to his room once more. It wasn't so much a reason to NOT go tell Law, but he figured he should make sure their guest was comfortable before they began sailing, and explain things if he was awake when they started moving and he wasn't on Law's ship.

No one seemed immediately eager to go to the submarine and figure out the metal halls to find the Captain and tell him, so Luffy just jumped over to the side where his ally's ship was still docked and cupped his hands around his mouth. A few of his friends had just enough time to roll their eyes as he started shouting.

"HEY TORAO! LOG POSE IS SET!" There was no way his scream couldn't be heard echoing through the metal ship.

Sure enough, Bepo's head poked out after a few minutes in response to the shout. He stuck his arm out to show his own Log Pose.

"Same place!?" He shouted back.

Nami took a pair of binoculars and took a peek at the offered compass since the tiny item was hard to see even if they were docked right next to each other.

"Lucky! It sure is!" She responded with a wave and a grin. "Let's get moving then!"

The polar bear formed his outstretched hand into a thumbs up before vanishing back inside the ship. Franky was already almost done raising anchor for the Sunny, and the sound of metal on metal told them their allies were raising theirs as well. It was time to set off for the next place, the Straw Hats bearing two extra passengers and the Heart Pirates broodingly silent without two of their own. There had been discussions to get Toshiro to bring Heinrich back, but others knew he was a Soul Reaper, not a god. He helped souls move on, he couldn't bring them back, and probably wouldn't. Despite Law's words that Toshiro had no control over the Heartless and therefore the fight was not his fault, resentment still lingered in the crew towards the Nobody who had brought attention to them in the first place.

It would be a rocky trip from here on out.


	24. Peaceful Travels

Hitsugaya Toshiro ended up sleeping solidly for two days. Chopper was of course worried, but talking to Hyorinmaru revealed it was the dragon himself keeping his master asleep so as to fully recover from such a massive loss of Spirit Energy, and his perch atop the small figure let him keep the darkness at bay so as to allow him a peaceful sleep. Other than letting Chopper change the bandages and check the wounds, the dragon did not let anyone near and refused to move, though he did accept snacks brought to him by Chopper. Hyorinmaru was a rather picky eater, naturally fond of meat being a dragon but with a curious love for watermelon.

" **My master is fond of it as well.** " He gave a small hurr as he spoke with the small healer. " **He hates sweet things, but he has liked this fruit since before he knew of me** **.** "

"Hates sweet things? How come?" As a lover of all things sweet this revelation surprised the reindeer.

The dragon shifted in a way that could only suggest a shrug of his shoulders along with a small snort. Toshiro just didn't like anything sweet, there was no real explanation, just his odd preference. Same as the rare few people who didn't like chocolate, or perhaps those with a dislike for salty snacks.

Hyorinmaru didn't explain much for them besides these random odd tidbits now and then to Chopper, since the reindeer was the only one who could speak to him, so eventually they gave up trying. Things seemed to have calmed down among the Hearts as a couple of them boarded the Sunny, their ship just behind the Sunny as they sailed. Law was one of the few, along with Jean Bart and Bepo. Dextra was sitting with the bear, feeling better but still avoiding her Papa's gaze. Law at least looked rested again, if still more somber than usual.

Somewhere in the afternoon of the second day the door to Chopper's room opened and finally they saw not the reindeer but their white and black haired guest, teal eyes blinking a few times in the light of the sun before rubbing them drowsily. Hyorinmaru was once more perched on his shoulders.

"Hey Shiro, you're up!" Luffy waved to the small figure.

"Don't call me that." Toshiro snapped in a sleepy tone, awake enough to shoot a glare at the pirate.

"Right, right, sorry." The straw hat wearer just laughed.

"You seem to be doing better." Law kept a quieter tone since their guest seemed to be grumpy when first woken. Best not to risk any icicles thrown their way for something as silly as that.

Choosing not to reply at first, Toshiro looked around him, starting to realize they were out at sea and he was on the Sunny, as was Law and his crew. Looking a little more he spotted the submarine. Traveling together? They were allies, he supposed that made sense.

"It's definitely the best sleep I've had in a while." He finally responded, turning back to those below on the grassy deck.

"I would hope so, you slept for two days." Nami snickered.

Teal eyes widened and the Nobody couldn't help a slight drop of his jaw.

"Two… what!?" He was definitely not happy with THAT news. Hyorinmaru gave a rumble in his throat as he spoke only to his master that the rest was necessary, causing Toshiro to look his way accusingly. "Two days is hardly necessary Hyorinmaru!"

"He was just helping, it's alright, plus now your wound is all healed!" Chopper spoke up reassuringly, not wanting the pair to fight.

Curious, Toshiro looked at his bandage free shoulder, scarring over where the puncture had once been.

"You healed up pretty fast."

"Yeah… I did." Even with a Soul Reaper's vitality two days was definitely quick for a wound like that to heal all the way, he wondered if it had sped up in his forced sleep. He glanced at Hyorinmaru, and with a rumbled reply was given the answer he needed, sending a silent thanks back to his companion. "So… I guess we're going to the same place now?"

"Yup, figured it might be fun for a while to see what adventures you'll bring our way." Zoro responded with a confident smirk, already looking ready for the next big Heartless fight. His wounds had already healed as well, but he had less harmful ones anyway since he was fast enough to dodge and wasn't put into the same situation as Toshiro where he was forced to take a hit. It was the same for the others who had participated in a fight as well.

"Being hunted is hardly fun." Toshiro said to the swordsman with a grumble.

"Sure it is, that's half of being a pirate!" Luffy countered with a cheer.

"You're the only one who thinks that way!" Usopp snapped with a hard tap on his fellow pirate's head. Being rubber the harder than normal hit for disciplining someone did pretty much nothing to the young man.

Toshiro could only watch the Straw Hats for a moment as they broke off into their own conversations about Luffy's tendency to jump them all right into the first bit of danger he saw. Sanji took his leave into what the Nobody could only assume was the kitchen when delicious smells hit his nose after the door opened, causing his stomach to rumble much louder than it had before he'd gone to sleep for two days. To his relief, no one heard.

"I suppose with your dragon returned I can start trying to figure out how to fix you." Law's voice to his left gave him reason to turn away from the chaos of the young pirates. Like the others, Toshiro could tell immediately the surgeon was not at his best, but after remembering what happened back on the island he could hardly blame him and chose not to push the subject. There was still some suspicion for his interactions with Dextra… he would find time to ask about that soon.

"It will still be difficult… I'd rather you not mess around with Hyorinmaru just to see what happens." Toshiro responded warily. For good reason he kept hostility in his gaze for this conversation; he'd come too close to losing Hyorinmaru forever far too many times on his journey through worlds to blindly trust his Heartless to someone with the ability to rip hearts away.

"I understand, though I've already had some practice during that battle." Law accepted the mistrust and just kept a business-like tone. This wasn't just another Heartless to Toshiro, it was half his soul, he knew from the start he couldn't treat the dragon like any other experiment. " _Mes_ alone won't work, the hearts vanish even if I hold onto them, since the physical body disappears without it."

Hyorinmaru gave an unpleasant rumble and the icy spikes down his back seemed to flare up like an upset cat. Vanishing like that definitely did not sound appealing.

"I've switched souls before as well, you can ask the fools down there, but switching isn't really what you two are looking for, and I don't know if it would even work properly." The surgeon continued, motioning with his head back to the rowdy crew below.

"You've switched them?" Toshiro raised a brow.

"It's a good confusion tactic, finding themselves in different bodies." Law gave a slight smirk. "It was before we became allies, I needed to buy some time so I switched a few of them around. I of course changed them back later, but it did what I needed it to do."

"I see… I agree though, I don't think switching us will change anything. You somehow need to transfer Hyorinmaru back to me."

"Which is going to take some thinking, and if you're willing, some observation."

Toshiro went into thought at the suggestion. Like with hospitals, he wasn't a fan of sitting still to be poked and prodded, especially when the one person he knew that loved doing that would have no problem hurting his dragon to figure things out. However, Law was not Kurotsuchi, he took care of his own and had enough morality to not use himself and Hyorinmaru as personal guinea pigs. Plus, with his unique ability, he had an advantage in figuring this problem out over the face-painted Captain of Squad Twelve. There was still a lot of risk, but until proven otherwise this was his only hope to return to normal and undo the damage Xemnas had done. If he was honest, it was probably the only hope he had to live.

"If it helps and isn't a risk to our already chaotic health, I don't mind." The Nobody finally relented.

The serious conversation was then interrupted as Luffy shot himself up to where they were, an arm hung over each of them with the young man's goofy grin in the middle. Considering the height difference between the two, he held an odd posture, but didn't seem to mind as he spoke cheerfully to the now grumpy pair. Hyorinmaru was the most upset, icy spikes flared up again as his perch was taken by a rubbery arm.

"Hey come on let's go eat! I'm starving!"

"You're always starving." Law grunted in annoyance, managing to shove the arm off his shoulders only for it to pop right back and wrap around.

"Not to mention you don't seem to leave anything for everyone else." Toshiro added. He was more successful removing the offending appendage since Hyorinmaru let out a breath of stinging frost. While the Nobody just dusted some of it out of his hair, Luffy pulled his arm away with a pout, freeing Law as well as he used the other arm to try and unfreeze himself. Hyorinmaru took his perch back with proud head held high, golden eyes daring the rubber man to try again.

"That's not fair, I totally leave some for everybody, there's just a lot of really good food!" Still looking a tad upset about the cold shoulder treatment, Luffy kept a pout as he argued with the two.

"There's no denying you have a good cook, but that's no excuse to treat the whole table as your plate." Law put in his bit, turning away and walking back down to the deck below.

"I do not!" Luffy followed the older man down, leaving a relieved Toshiro up above as they argued their way into the kitchen. That was a lot of energy the Nobody didn't want to deal with, so once by himself he allowed himself to lean over the railing a bit and let out a tired sigh.

He had to consciously ignore his angry, growling stomach as it demanded the food that smelled so delicious down below. Hyorinmaru's reprimand to go eat was promptly ignored as well. He just didn't want to deal with such a rowdy, ill-mannered crew. A headache began to form just thinking about it.

A different thought came to mind, one he'd been worried about for a long while and hadn't gotten around to asking his dragon.

"Hyorinmaru… did you ever find Sora and Riku? Before you regressed?" He asked cautiously.

' ** _I was tracking you first once you vanished from the Dark Realm, but I did notice the two of them escape as well before my mind became chaotic._** '

"Really? That's good to know." Toshiro let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't said anything to the others, still not super eager to talk about his companions and past relations, but he had been increasingly worried about the pair of Keyblade Wielders he had left behind. "I suppose I'll need to apologize to them once I fix things here…"

As the Nobody allowed himself to be lost in thought and enjoy the breeze, a head poked out from the kitchen, unnoticed by their guest. Sanji raised a single curly eyebrow at the small figure's refusal to come eat before vanishing back inside. With experienced movements he avoided the chaos inside and managed to make a full plate, keeping Luffy's hands off as he ducked back outside. Not a bit of food spilled and he walked with the grace of a gentleman like he dealt with this every day, which of course he did.

"Hey, you may be dead but that doesn't mean you get to starve." He called out to the silent figure.

Surprised, Toshiro opened his eyes to look at the cook, noticing the plate of food. It still wasn't anything he looked super interested in considering the differences in cuisine where he was from, but damn did it smell good. His sharp teal eyes also spotted a bit of dessert on the side; watermelon. Now THAT he wouldn't mind having right now.

"I can tell you're not exactly a social butterfly but I'm not your waiter, at least come get this. Where you eat doesn't really matter." A bit of gruff annoyance came out in the blonde's tone but Toshiro was honestly glad the pirate bothered at all, considering they probably didn't start off all that well.

Figuring it was rude to leave such a gracious offer waiting, Toshiro jumped down from above, landing lightly on his feet in front of the cook.

"Thank you… I appreciate it." With a slight bow of his head first to go with his words he accepted the plate from the taller man.

"Well you have better manners than the idiots in there, so no problem." Sanji responded with a smirk. "I don't let anyone go hungry if I can help it, and that means even if they don't want to."

He left the conversation at that and went back inside to join his crew and the few Heart Pirates. Once the doors closed, it was blissful silence once more.

Deciding to sit atop a tall dome structure near the back – it seemed to be a bathroom inside – Toshiro enjoyed the breeze once more, as well as the food. Despite it being heavier than normal seafood dishes he ate at home, he ate every bit, and with surprising gusto after his first bite when he became aware just how hungry he was. Hyorinmaru of course got some too and demanded they take the cook with them, to which Toshiro laughed.

"Oh, you can laugh."

Toshiro froze up a bit, having not been paying attention and startled by the voice. Dextra had found his perch and was sitting at the very top of the dome whereas he was at the side, watching. By the feathers still merging back to normal skin, she had only just made her way up there.

"What was so funny?" She asked with a slight smile, nothing but childish curiosity on her face.

"Hyorinmaru and I enjoy the food, and he in particular suggests a kidnapping." Toshiro answered her, motioning for her to sit beside him, as it was a pain to turn around and speak to her. He also wasn't fond of people behind him.

"Sanji's cooking is super amazing, isn't it?" She giggled as she obliged his suggestion and moved to sit next to him, careful not to get too close since she was aware he had a bigger personal space than most.

"It's no wonder his Captain practically shoves half the banquet in his mouth." The Nobody agreed with a small chuckle. "I'm not used to food like this but I couldn't stop eating."

"Well you also haven't eaten in two days or so, anyone would want to eat a lot."

Toshiro took notice to Hyorinmaru flipping himself around so his front end was facing the side Dextra was on, almost blocking his Master's view of the other. The dragon was letting off a 'don't mess with me' aura and it took Toshiro a moment to realize why; Hyorinmaru didn't like that Dextra had attacked him. In response, Dextra scooted away a tad bit more to allow the dragon his own space.

Though reminded of something he still wanted to learn about, Toshiro went to distract his dragon with a piece of watermelon still left. Hyorinmaru snapped his tail at him, a bit insulted, but accepted the bribe and turned away.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask about." He opened up with. Dextra, unaware of his train of thought, tilted her head in question, waiting for his. "Back on the island, with the Heartless fight, you turned into something that was not yourself."

A dark look overtook the girl's expression and she turned away, clearly uncomfortable.

"Has Trafalgar-"

"Papa didn't do anything." Her angry snap cut off his question.

Toshiro frowned at the interruption, but chose to approach the topic differently.

"Why did you attack me?"

When she turned back towards him with shocked confusion, he already had a little more insight into her odd form; she didn't remember what happened.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know I attacked you… I guess that explains the feeling I got that Hyorinmaru was mad at me. He was scary…" Her apology was at least sincere, meaning her attack was instinctual and not by her actual will.

"Dragons don't like it when someone else comes after what's theirs." Toshiro explained.

"Neither do eagles; I probably didn't like another Heartless so close by. That ship is my home, so I only hope I didn't hurt you."

"Thankfully no, but it was close, and a bit startling."

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"I know you think my Papa is the reason I do that, but he's not. He HATES it." Dextra was the one to continue, her tone holding a bit of hostility as if daring him to accuse her adopted father again.

"Then why is it necessary?" Starting to understand he had the wrong perspective, Toshiro kept his tone neutral, curious. "You turned into his pet."

"Papa would never treat me as a pet!" Had she been in eagle form her posture would suggest she was ruffling her feathers in anger. "He only gives me commands so I don't do something I shouldn't, he's trying to help me stop it altogether."

"I see… but then, how did it start? Who would call you princess?"

"Someone else…" Seeing as the eagle girl was becoming extremely uncomfortable, a feeling he was all too familiar with, he sighed.

"Well, it's at least good to know I was right the first time, that he takes care of you and the others well." The Nobody offered instead. "If you don't want to tell me you don't have to, I believe you. I also have things I would rather not say. May I at least know how to avoid it?"

"I only turn that way when there's a direct threat to my family." Dextra responded in a small voice. She was grateful he backed off the topic, terrible memories returning and plaguing her thoughts. "Though I guess with you having a lot of darkness I might not remember you're with us."

"That's unfortunate, you have very sharp claws." Though he was being serious, his tone held just enough sarcasm Dextra couldn't help but let out a short, unexpected laugh. "You backed off to Hyorinmaru though so I think I'll be fine, and I won't let him eat you."

' ** _Not a fan of feathers anyway._** ' Hyorinmaru tried to add, still munching on the watermelon piece, stalling on purpose so his Master could talk like he wanted to.

' _You need to quit being so aggressive anyway._ ' Toshiro shot back. Hyorinmaru's Heartless self was a lot quicker to react with a snarl of teeth and a fight than he used to, which Toshiro wasn't fond of. The dragon himself however just looked confused, wondering how else he was supposed to act, unaware his behavior was incorrect. The contrast between this primal Heartless and the once wise and powerful dragon was hard for Toshiro to get used to, feeling like he had to keep a leash on his companion rather than look to him for help.

"I could probably get away from him just fine." Dextra attempted to lift her head with a proud look but still had a slightly sad expression.

"I suppose I haven't seen you at your best, so perhaps, but I also know Hyorinmaru is very fast." Toshiro continued this path of conversation to continue getting away from their previous darker one.

"Well sure, but I bet a harpy eagle like me is faster." Dextra took the bait gladly and managed a smirk.

"Call me biased but I'm pretty sure you're not."

"I'll race him then!" As she stood up defiantly on the edge of the roof, Hyorinmaru glanced over at her curiously.

' ** _But I just ate._** ' The dragon complained, the rest of the watermelon piece taking up most of his mouth as if to prove his point.

At the whiny response to Dextra's racing challenge, Toshiro couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hey, what did he say!?" Stomping her foot like a child, Dextra pouted at the odd pair.

"He-He's full." The Nobody managed to get out between breaths of laughter. He was able to calm down fairly quickly even as Dextra started giggling but it felt good to laugh again, it had been quite some time since he felt he could.

Down below, Nami was outside to do a weather check and heard the two voices laughing, looking up with some surprise at the pair on the roof of the bath house. Dextra was a quiet individual, and what little she knew of Toshiro made him out to be very reserved and serious, so seeing them both laughing was a bit odd. She smiled, however, glad that they had found something to enjoy. The weather had a nice, refreshing chill in it as well, which hadn't been there before, and since there were no other signs of a cold front or possible storm she could only assume it was their strange guest that caused it. Interested, she took a seat outside for a bit of sun bathing and just observed the weather and by extension the small Reaper that changed it with his mood.

She had full expectations that things were going to get interesting from now on, she needed her relaxation time while she still had it.


	25. A Relaxing Time For Learning

Now that Toshiro had gotten food and was feeling more himself, he was interested in the new crew. They enjoyed telling stories more than the Heart Pirates, most of whom preferred talking about women they'd met with and their Captain silent about anything that didn't happen within the week. Compared to them, the Straw Hats were loose-lipped and childish.

And to Law's surprise, having observed the Nobody to be reserved as well and very closed off, Toshiro took to the group a lot faster than he had the Heart Pirates.

It was as if the strange being saw something familiar in all of them, and while still quiet and unwilling to participate in their weird activities, seemed more at ease. Law would stay mostly on his own ship, but since Dextra was still refusing to go back inside, he would return to the Sunny for a bit and sit with the eagle child, making sure she got her space from the rowdy Straw Hats when she needed it. When he wasn't there, he took notice to Toshiro hanging around her when he too wanted some peace.

Within only a day or two, Toshiro pretty much knew all the adventures of the Straw Hats. Usopp used a lot of over exaggeration in his re-telling of past events, which were usually fixed by someone else piping in, but it amused the Nobody. Not enough to get more than a tiny smirk out of him, but enough to encourage the sniper to keep it up. Chopper, like Bepo, took a liking to being within a certain sphere of Toshiro where he kept things a few degrees colder than the rest of the ship.

"So do you have talking animals in your world?" Dextra asked the Nobody curiously. "You don't seem to mind Bepo or Chopper at all."

"I had a fellow Captain who was a wolf." Toshiro answered with a shrug. He never went into a lot of detail about his home, but was less stingy about it than before, and Dextra – curious as always – took advantage of this new openness. "He can't change forms like you two can, he's more like Bepo."

"He sounds scary." Chopper frowned.

"Not really, Captain Komamura took care of his squad well and was very respectful. Compared to some of the other Captains I had the displeasure of working with he was quite friendly."

"Tch, last wolf I knew was a lying little shit." Sanji huffed, definitely not fond of the memory.

"How strong was he?" Zoro had a different question, ignoring the cook's fuming. "You guys all use swords, right?"

"Yes." Toshiro raised a single brow in question, wondering what the taller man was getting at. "If you're wondering who the strongest is, it depends. In terms of sheer raw power, that would be Kenpachi Zaraki. He has no communication with his zanpaktou, and while usually that's a requirement he was strong enough it didn't matter."

"How about you?"

Gaze going distant, the white-haired figure thought about it for a moment.

"Unfortunately I can't give an honest answer to that." He finally responded with a frown. "I'm the youngest, which is an achievement of itself, and I can hold my own against my fellow Captains…but I've also gained new powers since then. I've also had them reduced with my current state and the darkness messes with my control."

"Only one way to figure it out then." Zoro grinned as he finally got to the point he wanted to make.

Toshiro took another moment of thought as the Straw Hats all looked at him curiously for his answer. He supposed sparring with another swordsman wouldn't hurt, Law himself had never showed any interest in doing so, and the Sunny was better suited for it than the metal confines of the submarine. He worried about his lack of control with the darkness…but after the last island, he knew he couldn't keep being afraid of it.

"Alright." Jumping off from where he sat, he stood before the green-haired pirate. His zanpaktou formed willingly into his hand, the chain blade resting in his other hand. "I never got to see anyone's full potential since that Heartless pulled low tricks to weaken us all first."

"Z-Zoro, are you sure about this, he could drown us." Usopp whispered far too loudly to his crew mate, looking concerned.

"I'm not going to sink the ship if that's what you're worried about." Toshiro huffed, not as amused this time around as the sniper jumped back in surprise. "I just recovered my Spirit Energy, I won't use it up in a spar and risk losing control now."

"I just want to see how good your swordsmanship is." Zoro smirked. "None of that magic stuff."

"Fair enough."

Toshiro was surprised as Zoro drew all three swords, having expected the other to try and 'keep it even' by just using one. Finally, someone who didn't underestimate him, he took his stance preparing to offer the same courtesy to his opponent. The other Straw Hats watched in curiosity as they leapt at each other. Zoro's blades were known to shatter other swords, but Toshiro's single blade held up to the force of all three, almost shimmering in defiance. Neither warrior wielded normal blades. The one attack alone said a lot about each of them to the other, and they held gazes for a moment, mutual respect passing between them. They pushed away from each other. Zoro's swords turned black, something Toshiro hadn't seen before, and in response he let off a slight gray glow, his Keyblade appearing in his other hand as the chain wrapped around his arm to stay out of the way.

"Hm, I do hope they don't accidently cut each other apart." Robin mused aloud, her morbid sentence sounding odd in such a casual tone and a slight smile on her face.

"Nah, Zoro's having fun." Luffy laughed as he watched. The sounds of metal clanging echoed through the air from the sparring, and while the air was much colder, Toshiro kept to his word and created no ice, his Spiritual Pressure simply raised because he wasn't sure what the black color added to the swords meant and was making sure to protect himself. It didn't seem to do much other than greatly strengthen the power behind the swords, making them almost unbreakable, and he was glad both zanpaktous and Keyblades held a power that kept them protected in a similar manner.

Figuring the black was just an extra layer of strength, Toshiro switched back to the offensive, using Flash Step for speed and his smaller stature to try and get underneath the other man's guard. Not one to disappoint, Zoro kept pace and made it clear why three swords worked for him. The pirate was impressed with his opponent as well; for all the talk of being unstable and looking like a child, it was clear why a dragon like Hyorinmaru was the boy's other half, a surprising power in his strikes and light on his feet. He definitely wanted to fight Toshiro at full strength, but wasn't going to let the Sunny get hurt, so he'd settle for a good spar.

The pair paused for a moment and locked gazes again, both smirking.

"Why do they act like they've known each other for years?" Chopper couldn't quite figure out why the two looked so satisfied as they returned to attacking.

"You can learn a lot about someone with the way they fight, and there's much more conversation in a sword fight." Law answered, being a swordsman himself. He still preferred interrogations, willing or not, but a good fight had its own way of revealing a lot. He'd used it before when Toshiro first arrived in his spar against Heinrich, obviously holding back and clearly hiding something, which prompted Law to dig further, eventually getting to where they were now; sailing with the Nobody of a Soul Reaper.

Dextra sat quietly next to her Papa as she watched the spar. She was curious if she could spar with her new friend too, he was so fast, and holding up against heavy hits like Zoro's was no easy feat. She wondered how long he'd been training. They all knew at this point he was much older than any of them, even undead Brook, since he'd pointed it out after getting tired of being called a child.

Eventually the boys called it quits, barely breaking a sweat for either of them. Toshiro was glad he'd managed to keep control even using his Spirit Energy to counter whatever Zoro was using, meaning he was getting better. A good sign for battles to come.

"I think once I become the strongest swordsman here, I'll come take a crack at you Soul Reapers." Zoro complimented in the only way he knew how. "If you're not the strongest, I've got a ways to go."

"Fighting a Soul Reaper is like fighting two spirits at once, it wouldn't be easy, and most know a fair bit of Kido and hand-to-hand as well. Considering the kinds of powers here, though, you might be among the rare humans who could stand your ground to one of us." Toshiro responded with a small bow of his head, letting his weapons disappear as Zoro's returned to their normal color and were sheathed, the green-haired man grinning at the confident praise. "What did you do to your swords, by the way? Turning them black?"

"What, Armament Haki?" Forgetting for a moment that Toshiro did not live on this world, Zoro seemed confused that he didn't know about it.

"Another kind of Haki?"

"There's three kinds, kind of like how there's three kinds of Kido." Law spoke up this time, feeling he would be able to explain it better for the Nobody in ways he understood. "Not necessarily the same differences though. The one we told you about was Observation Haki, useful for sensing and hearing others. What he just used is an armor over the body."

"It's super helpful against Logia types who are otherwise immune to physical attacks." Sanji added on. "Weapons, limbs, anything can have armament Haki put on it for a fight. Gives my kicks a little more bite."

"Interesting…" Toshiro mused, looking very thoughtful about something. "What about the third?"

"Oh, I have that one, it's Conqueror's Haki!" Luffy raised his hand as he answered like a child in class, big grin on his face.

"You say you have it like that's uncommon." The Nobody pointed out.

"It is." Jimbei spoke up. "A very, very chosen few can use that Haki. Of all of us here only Luffy has it."

"Could you show it to me?" Toshiro questioned, wanting to know more, following a hunch he had.

"Eh? Why?" The young Captain tilted his head curiously.

"Even if it's rare I'd like to know what it is in case I come across it again. Coming across the Armament Haki in this spar was lucky, had it been in battle the results might have been worse."

"You have a point but it's not super fun to be around." Usopp attempted to argue. This comment only seemed to make Toshiro even more interested as the other gave a slight tilt of his head.

"Yeah, and I don't really want to." Luffy grumbled, scratching at his nose impatiently. Teal eyes narrowed at him.

"Think of it like a shock to the mind, almost like the world pushes down on you." Jimbei offered what information he could, knowing it wasn't as helpful as the real thing but was all that could be offered.

Hand to his chin, Toshiro went into a deep thought with the information he was given.

"Is it something…like this?" After he spoke, his form let off a brief glow, and with it a sudden cold, heavy weight in the air. Everyone tensed up and looked surprised. Law recovered the quickest as he realized he'd felt it before, just never this apparent. It had been a lingering affect in the air in their fight with the plague Heartless, but he had thought it was just the weather. Zoro and Sanji recognized it as well.

"Whoa, you have it too!?" Chopper however looked star struck.

"No." The response confused the reindeer. "That is something all Soul Reapers can do. Spiritual Pressure. It's when we start to let out more of our power and Spirit Energy."

"But it feels so similar." Brook put a finger to his chin in thought.

"I'm starting to think Haki is more like your world's version of using Spirit Energy." Toshiro finally explained his train of thought. "Depending on how we train it, a Soul Reaper can use abilities very much like each of your Haki abilities. Humans capable of using their Spiritual Power isn't uncommon, though hard to obtain, so I wouldn't be surprised if in a world like this, with all the power available to the living, you evolved the same kinds of skills."

"Huh, neat." Zoro wasn't quite sure he followed, but he basically understood it as they all had skills on par with Reapers, and that was an appealing idea to him.

"Is that why you can hide from Observation Haki?" Dextra asked in interest. "You managed to hide from me on the ship."

"Hide from it?" Robin was curious now as well.

"Sensing the Spirit Energy of others is common among Soul Reapers, as well as the creatures we fight, so a version of that skill is to hide your own Spirit Energy so as not to be sensed." The Nobody clarified. "I was… having trouble with the darkness and didn't want to be found, so I used that skill to keep away until I had control again."

"Being able to hide from Observation Haki sounds pretty handy." Sanji mused aloud.

"But if Haki is like your techniques, then that would mean anyone who trains enough could use all three." Robin pointed out. Toshiro tilted his head in curiosity again, wondering what she was getting at. Is that not how it worked? "Conqueror's Haki isn't rare because of people's strength, it's rare because only a few chosen individuals can use it. The Marine Admirals are extremely strong, but not a single one can use this particular Haki."

"Interesting…" Toshiro took another moment to think. A technique not attainable through strict training? Perhaps there was some difference to it from using one's Spirit Energy in a burst. In any case, he at least knew he could withstand the Haki unless the other was much stronger, which was doubtful. He could withstand being near Kenpachi's suffocating Spiritual Pressure, even Aizen's when it got to an insane amount, so at most someone here with this Conqueror's Haki would only be able to stun him briefly just as they could.

"I believe the explanation most people have to this picky nature of the Haki is that those who obtain the power bear the status of kings. So far this seems to hold true, considering the people we've met who can use it." Jimbei added in his word, since he and Robin kept up better with knowledge and information and felt more confident explaining things to their guest.

"Royal blood?"

"Ha! Luffy's not royal though." Sanji snorted.

"I will be once I'm Pirate King!" Luffy didn't look dissuaded in the slightest at his cook's comment, on his feet with a proud stance.

Getting used to how silly these people were, Toshiro ignored the interaction to continue thinking. A special power only those with high status could obtain. Curious indeed. If he had the time he would look into it more, wondering how this vast world developed abilities not far off from his own kind, but for now he was content with it being close to Spiritual Pressure and hoped he could avoid too much trouble with it. For now it was better to concern himself with Observation and Armament Haki, as those were more common. Zoro definitely seemed like a willing sparring partner, and he'd gladly have a go with any others who wanted to so he could be better prepared for any fights to come. He could prepare them as well. They could fight on par against strong Heartless, but they weren't pirates or Marines as these guys were probably used to fighting; he wanted to make sure these new allies knew what to do against these other worldy threats when things became tough. Specifically, to prepare them against magic, as unlike Devil Fruits they had no universal weakness. Each magic type had a different weakness, and while all could be exploited, the smarter enemies knew how to make up for that vulnerability, and that's when things got tricky.

Straw Hats and Heart Pirates both agreed with this train of thought when he explained it to them, happy to help him learn more about the world since he in exchange told them about their new enemies.

When the more serious talk of training and learning tactics was just about done, Chopper cut in with a more childish, innocent question of pure curiosity.

"So what are the other worlds like? Huh, huh!?" The reindeer child's eyes were huge with curious wonder, mind open to any possibilities.

"The other worlds? Well, for starters they're not really supposed to know about each other." Toshiro responded. He was pretty sure they could care less what the rules are, considering their profession, but he felt he should at least point it out. "It can be dangerous."

"I bet they're all super cool places to explore!" As expected, Luffy only seemed encouraged by the warning, eagerly listening, as childish as his youngest member.

"Probably scary too." Brook wobbled where he stood with a concerned tone. For someone already dead, he sure worried about everything.

"And full of lovely ladies?" Sanji looked hopeful.

"I have met several princesses." Toshiro responded to the last comment.

"What? Not fair!"

"We have too, though." Nami pointed out in a dull tone to the chef. "Vivi, Shirahoshi, Rebecca, Viola…" She stopped her list as the blonde looked remorseful and went on a spiel of how terrible he felt leaving them all behind. "Good grief…"

"Most of the princesses were taken anyway, and the only one who wasn't is only fifteen." Toshiro added on with an odd look at Sanji. He was no stranger to a man gripped by hormones, Soul Reapers weren't immune to them, and with a Lieutenant like he had it was almost common to watch her back off lonely men. He, however, found the behavior annoying and tended to avoid it, especially since he usually had plenty of work to do and saw no point to pining after women when he still had such a high goal to reach. It helped that most women saw him as too young, and while he hated being called a child, he did like not having to worry about relationships. No one bothered him for one, and he bothered no one else, so one less thing to worry about. "And the queen I met was a mouse…"

"A mouse?" Several pirates asked in confusion.

"Yeah…the whole world was animals, and the king and queen were mice."

"…. Weird."

Toshiro chose not to mention that two of his companions on his journey across worlds were from this place, a duck and a dog.

"The human princesses were pretty at least?" Sanji questioned hopefully once more.

"…I guess?"

"What do you mean I guess!?"

"I was a little too busy trying to find a way home to go around rating women!"

"Give it a rest, Sanji." Nami sighed.

"Yeah, I wanna hear about other stuff." Luffy cut in with an excited grin.

Seeing as he wasn't getting out of this one, Toshiro let out a sigh. Talking about some of the places he went to really pointed out just how weird an adventure he'd been on. They were fascinated by the places where he had to change forms – forms like a werewolf, merman and even a lion cub – as well as making remarks to their own adventures if they heard something similar. Olympus was another big interest, and while Toshiro left out the more dangerous part of when Ichigo had lost control of his Hollow and nearly destroyed a chunk of the Underworld, his fights with the God of the Dead and his monsters had some of the men hyped, listening to it like children to an old legend. He even told a bit more about his home and some of the people he'd fought alongside.

Robin offered little to the conversation, but that didn't mean she wasn't heavily involved, filing away every little thing and watching their interactions. A soft smile stayed on her face as stories passed along from her friends and their guest, the latter seeming to lose some of the tension in his shoulders and his cold eyes looking less bitter. His dragon was hidden away, sleeping, in his master's shadow, but even having not known him for long she could tell his presence soothed Toshiro somewhat. If he looked uncomfortable, her watchful gaze took notice of a wispy tail moving out of the shadow to pat his master's leg and the discomfort would ease a bit.

Taking a quiet sip of her tea, the archeologist continued to smile to herself. New friends were always nice, and this one definitely needed their help.


	26. Nightmares

The night was calm like any of the others before it, and yet it almost seemed too still. The girls, Dextra included, were peacefully asleep in their room. The boys were in theirs save for Jimbei, who preferred the ocean breeze, and Zoro on watch as usual, the swordsman outside and alert even if he was clearly asleep. His sharp senses would wake him up, so the fact he slept quietly meant all was fine. The only other Heart Pirate on board was Puffin, choosing to rest in Chopper's area, having come to watch Dextra while his Captain went back to the ship to deal with some things. The nurse was one of the few the eagle girl liked almost as much as her Papa and siblings, so he could still keep her comfortable while she stayed away from the submarine. Even still, poor Puffin was in an odd state of mind with one of their own missing, and while he never acted upset with their Nobody guest, the occasional glances let Toshiro know that some of them thought it was his fault… and he could hardly blame them, if he hadn't come to this world, they never would have known about Heartless or been threatened by them.

It was one of the reasons he stayed with the Straw Hats as Dextra did, meaning Law had to move to the ship as well if he wanted to make any progress on fixing his condition. Even if they got annoying at points, he felt more comfortable in their cheerful world than the confined space full of grief on the other ship. He'd caused them enough trouble, so he gave them their space and simply offered what he could to help, knowing it would never be enough. Law at least held no blame over him, but seeing the Captain clearly distressed did not convince Toshiro he was free of any guilt.

Perhaps it was those nagging thoughts in the back of his mind that set it off, or perhaps it was the silent figure that appeared briefly above them, leaving behind something and vanishing just before Zoro could open his eyes and notice them. The swordsman looked around with a frown for a moment before deciding it was nothing and returning to sleep. Bearing no threat, the dark wisps warranted no attention from those on board as it twisted around its target, the snowflake charm immediately turning a pitch black.

It wasn't until this sudden, gentle brush of shadow catalyzed an event already in motion, speeding it along, that the ship went on alert.

Not immediately, but the air felt tense, and Zoro twitched in his sleep.

It started with a decline in temperature as the only other figure outside became highly stressed. He'd barely managed to fall asleep in the first place, still having a hard time getting any rest even with Hyorinmaru near to comfort him, the darkness still cruel and unforgiving in his thoughts. Toshiro's expression became pained as these terrible thoughts increased, unable to escape, trapped in a slowly worsening nightmare of crippling past memories and horrible future possibilities. Once the air dropped below freezing, the bit of ship wall he leaned against began to creak and groan as pitch black ice spread across its surface, the grass below him hardening into dead spikes.

Hearing the cracking sound as the ice continued to spread, Zoro snapped awake again, taking notice of the sinister feel of the cold in the air. With a shiver, Jimbei woke up too, the spray of sea water on the sides of the ship sounding more like rocks hitting the wooden sides. The swordsman moved first, standing and taking notice of the black spreading over the ship like an infection. He would have considered it to probably be a Heartless if he hadn't noticed the freezing air and shine to the moving darkness to show it was ice, as well as the shaking figure at the center of it all.

"Oi, wake up!" Realizing this was a bad situation if the ice kept spreading, Zoro jumped up and moved to go near and wake up the Nobody.

The moment his foot touched the ice a sharp, piercing chill ran up his body. Not only did he feel like he just went through a blizzard, but there was an odd feeling of being… hunted. That was the only way he could describe it. His foot had also immediately frozen to the black ice creeping underneath him. In hindsight, considering the circumstances, it was probably not his smartest move. The hunted feeling was easy to shake off at least and he wondered if it was just a flash from the ice user himself, transferred through the shadows in the ice from his nightmares. Whatever it was, it was bad to keep around, he needed to wake Toshiro up to stop it. The ice was easy to break away from as well, just a light layer that didn't at all match the chill he'd just experienced, but since he didn't want to step on it again and possibly freeze for sure, he settled for some more yelling.

Jimbei had hurried over at all the noise, gasping at the eerie winter settling over the Sunny. Shadows crept up over Toshiro's form as they watched, and the more they chained him the more he shook and whimpered, terrified of something they couldn't see.

"Don't step on the ice." Zoro warned as Jimbei approached.

"But then how-" About to question how to snap their guest out of this state without being able to touch him, Jimbei was cut off as a large shadow leapt into the sky right out of the ice.

Hyorinmaru landed on the railing of the ship in his small form with a low rumble of concern in his throat. Heartless or not, the shadows overcoming his other half made him uncomfortable, the ice not harmful to him but unwelcoming all the same.

"Hyorinmaru, any chance you could wake him up?" The fishman questioned, catching the dragon's attention. Hyorinmaru gave a flick of his tail, listening but perhaps not understanding. "The ice will catch us if we approach, can you wake him up for us? To make the ice stop?"

Hyorinmaru looked back at Toshiro, head low and letting out another worried rumble. He almost seemed… afraid?

The commotion was waking up the rest of the ship. Concerned gasps were heard in the air as they all saw the pitch black ice swallowing both the ship and the user. Zoro had a scowl on his face as he took another step, shivered, and broke out of the ice taking his legs to back up again, Jimbei having to back up step by step as the darkness continued to creep outwards, Hyorinmaru refusing to approach his master.

Dextra acted first, shifting into her eagle form and flying over. With her wings she could hover above the ground out of the way of the ice.

The shadows, however, did not like her getting close. Hands reaching up to fist in his hair, Toshiro let out a noise of fear at her approach and the darkness lashed out. She was forced to move up higher, unable to touch him.

"You tried, Dextra, but don't get too close!" Sanji called out in warning, looking at the chaos warily. The ice would try to freeze anything it touched, and the darkness surrounded Toshiro himself from any other direction, trapping him in place and continuing to feed into the spreading ice. This was as bad for all of them as it was for the Nobody stuck as the catalyst.

"But if I could just get to him, I can wake him up!" She called back. Concern filled her eyes, and perhaps even understanding, as if she knew what the boy was going through. She wanted so badly to help him.

"Here's a wakeup call!" Winding up his arm, Luffy let it shoot forward. He wouldn't punch too hard, hopefully just enough to snap the Reaper awake.

Hyorinmaru, however, did not take kindly to any form of attack on his master, jumping from the railing and knocking himself into the arm to throw it off course. The rubber man hit Zoro instead.

"Oh hey, this isn't too bad." Luffy was annoyed with the dragon, but took the opportunity to grab the now grumpy swordsman and pull hard, launching the swordsman backwards up to the others. Zoro gave a fierce scowl at his Captain for the treatment but figured he wasn't any good down there with the dark ice keeping him back. Jimbei made a short retreat up to where they were as well though there was still some distance before it would be any trouble since Toshiro had been near the front of the ship.

Apparently blocking the punch had given the dragon some of his protective determination back, letting out a roar as he launched himself back towards his master and vanished into the shadows. Unable to touch the Heartless, the tendrils just focused on keeping away the harpy eagle and chaining down their host, clearly hurting him as he let out a pained cry when one tendril coiled too tightly around his arm.

There was a shift in the air and Law appeared with them, having used his ability to get across faster when he came out of the ship and noticed the trouble.

"Another nightmare." He scowled. "This one seems a lot worse though."

"He's done this before?" Usopp asked in a panicky tone.

"Not this badly, it was when we realized he was weak to heat. While he was unconscious, he seemed to have a nightmare and started freezing the ship. We got him awake before it got to this level, though. The second time I pushed him too far but the Keyblade seemed to keep him safe from that one since he was awake."

They wanted to ask for hints on how to get him out of this one, but before they could, they all gave a start as a scream ripped through the air.

It was filled with so much terror, so much hatred and despair, it gave them all shivers up their spines, and a few of them even paled. Turning to look, they noticed Toshiro's hands had moved to his neck, as if he felt something there, tearing at his skin. His eyes were open, but the usually alert teal was clouded over in a sleeping terror, fighting vainly to escape the nightmare but not succeeding quite yet.

"Oi!" Luffy called out, shocked as he saw blood begin to flow. When he got no response and no signs of stopping, Luffy was about to jump down and run over, but Sanji stopped him.

"That darkness is bad news, Luffy, we can't just run up to him." The cook reminded, though he looked a bit spooked as well. Sitting there watching someone hurt themselves and being unable to stop them was a terrible feeling. He could use Sky Walk to avoid the ice floor, but he would probably meet with the same problem as Dextra and be pushed back by the same darkness constricting around Toshiro. They had to think about this.

Seeing him tear at his own neck, Dextra steeled herself and dove straight down. She couldn't watch anyone else die, especially not by their own hands.

The dark tendrils twisted violently, constricting painfully around Toshiro, at the least forcing his arms away from his neck by pulling them down at his sides instead, several more rising to the sky as he looked up. His eyes were still clouded, but Dextra saw terror hidden within them, seeing her as a threat in his hazy nightmare and the darkness reacted accordingly. In the next moment pain shot through one of her wings and one of her legs, and her vision spun until she saw only ocean.

"Dextra!" Law's panicked shout was all he could do as she fell into the water, unable to follow or he would drown as well. He was about to take the risk anyway when a blur of black shot past him, keeping to the air to avoid the ice before diving right into the water. He put his hopes in Sanji to get her out before she sank too far.

"We still need to do something about him!" Franky had to shout as the wind was picking up even more, carrying with it a chill that nipped at their skin painfully. Whatever was going on in Toshiro's head, his panic was fueling the darkness, which consumed his power to create a slowly worsening storm.

The darkness seemed to expand over Toshiro's form. At first they all tensed for something worse, perhaps even a fight, but a relieved sigh left them as it was Hyorinmaru showing himself in a larger form, still fitting on the ship but now taking up all the deck space. With a growl he settled somewhat unsteadily on the deck of the Sunny and reached a forewing over, latching onto his master with his talons and pushing him to the ground. The tendrils dispersed for a moment as the Heartless let out a cold breath, but Toshiro did not seem to recognize his dragon trying to restrain him. Their roles now reversed, Hyorinmaru could only do his best to keep his master in place so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else, the dragon unable to make any other move that might harm him.

He turned his golden gaze back on the pirates behind him as Sanji returned, helped up out of the water by Robin's hands with Dextra in his arms. Despite there clearly still being a threat, Law's only concern was making sure she was okay, and while Sanji shivered in the intense cold wind hitting his soaked body, he kept Dextra close to hopefully keep her warm. Her arm and leg bled heavily and Law was not about to let it get worse, the doctor leading Sanji away into Chopper's room at the reindeer's invitation.

The dragon looked over them all before settling on a surprising figure, Nami blinking a few times to make sure that yes he was looking at her. Chopper, thankfully still outside, translated for her.

"He wants you to go help!" He said to the navigator.

"Me!?" She was understandably taken aback. Next to the dragon a storm was raging, and the darkness was lashing out again as Toshiro struggled, at risk of hurting himself against his dragon's talons with his panicked thrashing. There was nowhere safe in that mini arctic-hell he'd created around him.

"He mistook you for someone before, perhaps Hyorinmaru thinks you can calm him down." Robin spoke up, understanding what the dragon might be getting at. "Pretend to be her for a bit?"

"But I don't know who Rangiku is, he totally would know she's not me!" Nami argued. She did not want to go anywhere near someone so dangerous. But… she glanced over for a moment, seeing the blood flow down his neck. That darkness was definitely dangerous, but the one hurting the most was the child himself, if anything they would be saving Toshiro by waking him up and not just themselves.

The dragon gave a low, sad rumble and Chopper listened intently. Nodding confidently to the Heartless, he turned back to Nami.

"He says he'll protect you, and that you just have to talk to him. Rangiku saved his life once, if he thinks you're her, he won't feel threatened and might wake up."

"Still, that's…" It was a lot to ask, and while protection from the dragon was a nice thought, those black spikes looked… deadly.

There was a split second where the wind stopped, and everything went still. It didn't last long, barely long enough for them to notice, and then it was back full force as Toshiro screamed again, his free arm curled up over his head as if he was trying to hide. He was shouting words this time, and over the rising storm they heard 'I didn't do it, I didn't mean it' repeated over and over again.

Hyorinmaru snarled at the darkness clinging to his master so painfully to clear it away again, and the mantra subsided to a whimper.

With Nami still looking uncertain, Robin took charge instead, hating to see a child – even one older than them – suffering in such a way. He held up a cold exterior towards them, but living the life she had, it didn't fool her one bit. She may not look like anyone precious to him, but she would give it her best, using her ability to make a bridge of arms over to the dragon's back. He didn't seem to mind, leaning down a bit so she could step over his icy wing towards his master.

"Hey wait, I didn't say no!" Seeing her crewmate's brave charge right into the storm, Nami jumped the railing and followed, Robin having left her arms up to do so. They vanished behind the navigator, though, which left a pouting Luffy behind.

Upon the dragon's back, the cold felt less harsh, the wind held back and not threatening to throw her off. A subtle aura surrounded the beast to protect them, just as he promised, and allowed her to catch up with Robin. One short slide down Hyorinmaru's leg and they'd be next to Toshiro, but right next to him they would not be as protected, and the dark spikes were growing. They seemed to be forming some kind of barrier, rising up and over top of the small figure, and only Hyorinmaru's hold on Toshiro himself kept it from covering him completely as his talons blocked that side from rising. His arms still covered his head, hiding from them.

Robin slid down first, gasping a bit at the sharp shock of cold that went over her as she touched the ground. Thankfully, right next to the source of the ice, it did not freeze those who touched it, at least not immediately, frost nipping at her limbs not covered by clothing. They would not have long even with Hyorinmaru's protection. Worse than that, the intensity of anxiety and fear that hit her with the cold air made her breath catch, her heart beating fast as she tried to force it down. She could have sworn she heard screams in the distance, but with a shake of her head they went away. Flashes of what Toshiro was seeing? She couldn't be sure. She looked up to Nami, the orange-haired woman already looking shaky both because she wore less than Robin to protect her from cold and because she was not sure she wanted to face that same darkness Robin had just powered through.

Figuring Nami would come down in her own time, when she had a bit to collect her thoughts, Robin focused back on the white-haired child trapped under a frozen wing. The black in his hair was starting to increase as black frost collected in the boy's hair.

"Hitsugaya, I need you to listen to me." Despite teeth chattering from cold, she kept her voice soft, calming.

He did not respond, knuckles turning white as he grasped more firmly at his hair with a whimper. Black ice had covered his neck, and while it stopped the bleeding it was clear its presence there greatly upset him, his breath heavy and suggesting he was having trouble breathing now with it there. He didn't necessarily need to breath in his current state, but not being used to it, the choking sensation frightened him.

"It's alright, no one is here to hurt you." Robin tried again, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm.

"No!" His shout thankfully warned her of trouble, letting her pull her hand away before the darkness could latch onto her as it thrashed wildly from his fear.

"I just want to help, it's alright."

"You'll get killed…" He was responding now at least, but she couldn't see his eyes to see if he was awake or just reacting to what he thought was still a nightmare. "Just like them…"

"No one here has been killed, but you're going to hurt yourself if you keep this up." Though curious what nightmare he was living through to be afraid of killing others, Robin kept her tone soothing and focused on trying to bring Toshiro to reality.

"I didn't mean it…" With that response it was definitely clear that he was still mostly unconscious.

"We know, Hitsugaya, it's alright. You must wake up."

To her surprise, he laughed. Still hidden under his arms and sounding quite unstable, Toshiro laughed.

"I had to, though… didn't I? They made me… argh, stop!"

Robin had to back up a bit as Toshiro, in what seemed to be a mental battle against himself, hit his head against the frozen floor. Red stained into his hair, the ice sharp and brittle.

Concerned, Hyorinmaru loosened his hold slightly, Nami having to hold on a little tighter as he shifted. In the brief relief from his dragon's talons, Toshiro pulled his way out and shoved himself against the icy wall slowly rising up around them, curving over to form a cover. It blocked the wind at least, but that didn't make it any less cold.

His back up against the wall, Toshiro's blank eyes stared in fear at the ground just in front of him, hands back at his neck to claw at the ice covering the wounds he had already made. Robin acted quick, choosing to use her ability to make arms up against the ice wall and pull the boy's hands away, acting as human shackles so he couldn't keep hurting himself.

"N-no, let me go!" He cried, shutting his eyes as he pulled against the arms. He still held surprising strength for his size, probably more so just because he was so panicked, causing Robin to add a few more hands to hold him against the wall. "Don't make me hurt any more of them, please… just let me die!"

Robin wanted to reach out, even as his hands began to give off an icy mist that warned of a magic attack ready for use, but someone beat her to it. For a brief moment, Toshiro's crying faltered, shocked stiff as he was embraced by Nami. He still looked terrified, whether for himself or her they couldn't be sure at this point, but all his line of sight could see was orange. Nami could feel him shaking like a leaf, was worried about how bizarrely cold he was, but she kept her hold. The dark tendrils rose up and she braced herself, wondering if this was a bad idea after all, getting trapped in this cocoon of ice with an ice monster… but then they shrank away. The glow around his hands flickered out, freeing them from the threat of being frozen.

"This is extremely terrifying and I'm not going to ask what happened to you, but you're okay now. No one is going to make you do anything." Her tone was a little less certain than Robin's had been, but he was listening.

He didn't respond, but he seemed to be listening, his eyes beginning to lose some of the haze. The storm outside had begun to still and there was no more creaking of ice as it stopped its slow crawl over the ship. Hyorinmaru lowered his head over them, curious and hopeful. The sound of a hurr from the dragon made Toshiro look up slightly, as if seeing the creature for the first time. The girls didn't say anything else, just let him return to the waking world on his own now that he'd been shocked out of his nightmare.

"…I'm sorry." The terror seemed to be gone, but the sadness in his tone did little to stem their worries. Nami shifted back out of her hug and just left her hands on his shoulders, seeing him look down at the ground. He was fully lucid now, but the shame and sadness in his expression concerned them. "This is… I should have controlled this better."

"No one got hurt, it's alright." Robin tried to reassure him, choosing not to mention Dextra's injuries.

"It's anything but alright, I haven't had an episode like this in decades… Soul Society would never allow this, this is an absolute failure."

"Hey, you had a nightmare, and a pretty bad one by the looks of it, who cares what they say?" Nami snapped with a huff.

"A Captain doesn't let nightmares almost destroy everything around him…"

"You're a kid!"

"That doesn't matter!" Anger flashed across the Nobody's face and the navigator backed away a bit, startled. "This… all of this," he slammed a fist against the half-cocoon wall around them and it shattered apart, turning into an icy mist that vanished into the air, "I'm supposed to be better than this! I used to have control, and now-"

He cut off when his voice cracked and he ducked his head down again, hands gripping at his hair once more. He did his best to hide them, but they could still see his shoulders shake from the suppressed cries. Understanding his anger had risen due to self-loathing, Nami forgave the outburst and patted his back. He didn't refuse her, just let her rub his back calmly while he dealt with his inner turmoil.

The ice was at least beginning to free the Sunny and the water around them from its grip. No one said anything, not even Luffy, as they gave the Reaper his space for the night.


	27. Am I Still a Captain?

The next morning was a quiet one, everyone a bit drowsy from lack of sleep. Dextra had been treated but told to stay away from Toshiro. She was outraged at first, even daring to yell at her Papa when he told her this.

"It's him, not you." He countered once she let out her anger. "Chopper mentioned what happened to you and it will probably take a bit before he's comfortable to have you near him. He's still dealing with whatever sparked that attack, best to leave him alone."

"Would you have left me alone?" The eagle child snapped, arms crossed – if a bit awkwardly due to the heavy bandages on her left arm from her injury, as well as the sling it was meant to be resting in getting in the way - and not about to give in. She respected her Papa absolutely, but she wasn't about to back down from this. Though the reasons behind them might be different, she understood how the Nobody felt the best and wanted to help him just like her siblings and Captain had helped her.

She at least knew what nerve to hit, lifting her head in triumph as the taller man stiffened and looked away with a scowl.

"He's not you, Dextra, so far he hasn't really been the type to want any help. Even after Nami snapped him out of it, he refused any further consolation."

"I didn't exactly want help either."

"You had also been manipulated to think you didn't need any."

Dextra fidgeted in her spot on the bed in Chopper's room.

"…Sorry." Law knew she hated remembering events past, and he frankly didn't like to either, he just wanted her to realize this being from another world was not someone who liked help, and unfortunately had more dangerous fits.

"It's fine…" She muttered. "But I still want to help him."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Law gave up. She had been this way before, and even if he gave her orders as Captain it wasn't like the pair could avoid each other forever. He was still having to deal with her avoiding Thursday and everyone else on the ship.

"On one condition." He said as he thought about the older female orphan. "You have to go see Thursday. She could use you more right now."

Now it was Law's turn to be stubborn as she stiffened uncomfortably and looked ready to refuse.

"If you can't fix things with Thursday, you won't be able to fix things with Hitsugaya."

"Thursday hates me!"

"She does not." Law gave her a light flick on the forehead. "All of us were grieving, Dextra, especially her. You did what was necessary and she knows that, but you can't avoid her. You both need to resolve these wounds. Hitsugaya does as well, but he can wait until he deals with his own demons before he goes in trying to take all the blame."

Dextra went into thought for a moment, mulling all this over. As the one who made the hit, she felt most responsible for the loss of their oldest sibling, but she knew Toshiro felt the same as the one who brought the attention of the creatures here in the first place. And perhaps he was right, perhaps if he hadn't found his way to this world, they never would have been targeted by the Heartless, and Heinrich would have been fine. But he was also doing his best to stop them now that he was here, so Dextra felt she couldn't really blame him. She, however, made the kill…

"Fine." She agreed hesitantly. She supposed her Papa was right, and that if she couldn't deal with her own guilt, she couldn't help Toshiro with his.

"I'll go with you, but you two have to be the ones talking." He promised, tone softening a bit.

This time she just gave a nod to agree, letting Law help her down and lead her out of the room, her left leg bandaged to match her arm and causing a noticeable limp. Law kept close, keeping an eye on her to make sure the leg wasn't hurting too much, he didn't mind carrying her if he had to.

She knew she was supposed to follow him straight to their ship, but she couldn't help a glance over to where Toshiro was. Sitting on the railing facing the ocean, Toshiro had a slumped posture, much different from the usual straight-backed proud stance he usually took. He seemed unfocused, lost, occasionally lifting a hand to use magic on the water and mindlessly play around with the ice, not making anything distinct. Little Hyorinmaru was around his shoulders to comfort him, but it didn't seem to be working.

There was a bandage around his neck to cover his scratches, but she could tell quickly it made him uncomfortable as he kept trying to mess with it in between messing with the ocean, Chopper having to remind him every time to stop. The Heart Pirates already had assumptions that he had been collared and controlled, but after last night's episode now the Straw Hats had suspicions as well, wondering who had done it and what they made him do to cause him so much distress. Robin and Nami had their guesses, having heard his cries for help, and frowned at the idea.

Law waited patiently until Dextra finally turned away and followed him. Brook gave them a wave and wished them back soon but otherwise the Straw Hats let them be.

"Ooh, ooh, do you wanna try some fishing Hitsugaya?" Usopp made his own effort to lighten the mood around the ships as he jumped over to where Toshiro sat with some poles in hand. Toshiro glanced at him curiously. "Have you ever gone fishing before?"

"…Once or twice." Came the quiet answer. "I'm not good at sitting still."

"Neither is Luffy, but when the big fishes bite it's pretty thrilling!" The sniper encouraged. "Plus we gotta get our meat somehow."

"Mmmm, meeeeeeat!" The boisterous Captain, currently napping, drooled in his sleep. His friends just looked at him with deadpan expressions, not at all surprised.

"How big are the fish here?" Though not super interested in the activity, Toshiro figured he'd go along with the distraction. It also seemed like a good way to give back to the ones allowing him to sail with them.

"Anywhere from a foot or two for keepers to the enormous Sea Kings." Usopp answered confidently. "Though, uh, we try to avoid the second option."

"Sea Kings… the big sea monsters you spoke about?" The Nobody vaguely recalled them being mentioned in their story exchange.

"Those are the ones… they've destroyed thousands of ships in the Grand Line! Best not to mess with them…" Usopp gave a shudder at the thought.

' ** _I would like to meet one_**.' Hyorinmaru let out a small rumble, eager for the challenge.

"As a dragon you could probably kill one, but I doubt something with the name Sea King is as easy to take as a big fish." Toshiro responded to his companion.

"It's not impossible, we've eaten a few." Sanji countered. He had been quite distraught after hearing Robin and Nami had gone right into the storm to wake Toshiro, but having already gone through that anger on the Nobody previously – Nami cut him short, really, not wanting the cook yelling at Toshiro just after they got him away from a nightmare – he acted the same way he had been before to their guest. "The trick is getting one out of the water."

' ** _I want to find one_**.' Since Sanji had pretty much said they were killable and edible, by humans no less, the dragon wanted to snag one for himself.

"Hyorinmaru!" Toshiro was unfortunately unable to catch the Heartless before he dove underwater and took off. "Great, now he's off on a hunt."

"Well, on the bright side, if he catches one that's some good eating for at least a week, even with that black hole sleeping on the grass." Usopp offered the annoyed Nobody with a shrug.

"I would probably half that considering Hyorinmaru's size."

"Oh yeah…"

"Since I'm not allowing him to eat hearts when I can, he needs to feed himself somehow."

"Right, right, thanks for that." At the reminder that Hyorinmaru's current preferred diet was the bright hearts that were released from the Heartless upon death and existed within themselves as well, Usopp was once more grateful he was on their side. Mostly he was grateful that the dragon could still survive off of meat and normal food.

Seeing the sniper's shudders, Toshiro let out a light sigh.

"Hey, hey, we fishing?" Luffy had apparently woken up, darting over fairly quickly and snatching the pole Usopp already had held out for him. Toshiro was quite amazed how easily the Straw Hats could all react to their Captain's whims. "I'm gonna catch a super big one!"

"We kind of have to with you around!" Usopp snapped, more just resigned than annoyed, and the rubber man laughed, easily jumping up to sit next to Toshiro to start fishing, surprising the Nobody.

"Oh, wait, can't you mess around with the water?" Luffy turned to the shocked Reaper.

"…Sort of." Toshiro answered hesitantly.

"Wait, no fair, you can hog all the big fish!" The angry outburst made Toshiro stiffen, more confused than anything else. THAT'S what he had chosen to focus on? He thought Toshiro could cheat at fishing?

"Hyorinmaru already went off to catch a Sea King." Usopp pointed out when Toshiro couldn't put his genius mind back in order fast enough for a response.

"What!? No fair!" With the determined air of a stubborn child, Luffy cast out his line, wanting to be the one to catch the bigger fish before the ice users could.

"…Luffy, you need bait."

"…Oh. Woops."

To their side, Toshiro just watched the events in silent bafflement. Even after last night, they had no issues with hanging around him, even inviting him to help out with things around the ship. Luffy's only concern was nabbing the biggest monster in the ocean before Hyorinmaru could. Toshiro was reminded firmly of Sora, the never-look-back attitude suited to both the pirate and Keybearer alike, quick to forgive and move on as long as none of his friends were hurt. A brief smile crossed his face and he let out a single chuckle, easily mistaken for a huff of air, before he turned away and hopped down back to the deck.

"Eh, where you going?" Luffy wondered, turning away from the sea, curious.

"I wouldn't want to steal all the big fish." Though the tone behind it was still mostly void of feeling, there was a hint of sarcasm that made the two boys share a glance and snicker.

Toshiro retreated to the library he had been shown within the ship instead. With his dragon out hunting, he wanted to go ahead and stay away from the others for now and avoid becoming agitated, not trusting himself as he was currently even if they did. This place was much smaller than what he was used to, but that was understandable for a ship, and it still felt comforting. He was surprised a ship could house a library at all. With permission from the owners he'd taken to snooping through some of the texts the past few days and looked for a new one to gather information from today. Perhaps it would settle his nerves.

He paused at a shelving full of loose rolled up papers and what he recognized as drawing and topography tools in containers next to binders of more paper. Curious he took a glance at what was on some of the loose papers and realized they were maps. Unfinished, it seemed, or perhaps scrapped and simply kept for reference. Following a hunch, he carefully opened one of the binders and found finished maps, just as he expected. Whoever drew them took great care to get things right.

"Like them?" A female voice spoke up. He was somewhat startled, mostly because he wasn't expecting to be approached, since he had sensed her come in. Nami looked somewhat triumphant at his surprised expression. "I'm good, aren't I?" She winked.

"I was told you wanted to draw a map of the world… these are very well done." He responded truthfully.

"Thank you!" She beamed. "Not all of them are mine, some islands have their own maps I grab for myself to help with my final product, but I'll usually draw my own copy for practice."

"You add notes, too." The Nobody pointed out some writing along the backs of some of the drawings.

"Of course, every good explorer writes down their memories of a place to help remember it better." With a chuckle, the navigator took a seat at the single table bolted down in the center of the room and motioned for her binder. Still curious, he obliged, watching her flip to a different map. "This one is still my favorite."

"Cocoyashi Village?" Toshiro read the name over one of the main spots on the island.

"It's where I grew up." She smiled fondly. "My sister probably still lives there. The trees up on the Sunny are tangerine trees from our grove back home, couldn't leave home without a few."

"They taste great, so you must take care of them well for being on a ship."

"Usopp helps." She giggled. "He got really good with plants almost a year back. I heard you prefer watermelon though."

Toshiro turned away with a mildly childish huff and muttered something about mouthy dragons. A slight tinge of pink colored his face when she laughed at his reaction.

"So you're not afraid of me?"

Nami cut off her laughter at the sudden question, looking back at the other occupant of the room to see the pink had gone away and he was looking down at the floor nervously.

"You mean for last night?" She asked, wanting to clarify first. His nod was slight, but noticeable. "I'm scared of you, sure, but traveling with these idiots there's a whole lot of things we run into that terrify me. Luffy picks on any bigshot he doesn't like no matter what we tell him, so honestly I've seen scarier than you. Plus, it was hardly your fault, you didn't ask to be possessed by something so terrible."

"That still doesn't excuse my behavior." Toshiro countered with a sigh.

Nami frowned, thinking for a moment.

"The place you live in must really hate kids." She huffed.

"Not… really." Confused by her comment, Toshiro gave a tilt of his head as he looked at her.

"Then why can't you act like one?"

"Because I'm not one."

She raised a single brow.

"I may physically look like one but I am NOT a child." He scowled.

"Is that because of your age or your position?" Robin's voice entered the conversation before she physically did, sitting down at the table with the two surprised people. "If all of your people live to such a large number of years, then in comparison to some of your comrades would you not still be considered a child in age, even if you are a few decades older than our aged skeletal musician?"

"…True, but-"

"So you refuse to be what you are because of a rank?"

"For starters my appearance is still this way because my powers are immature, there are younger souls than me that look like adults." Toshiro explained with a growl. "But yes, I cannot allow mistakes such as this," he motioned to himself to mean his current condition, "when I am in charge of a Squad for the intent of protecting souls. Someone who makes such fatal mistakes and becomes so weak is not deserving of the Captain's position, that is simply the way Soul Society is."

"You're not in the Soul Society as of now." Robin pointed out with a grin.

"Because… I ran away." Uncomfortable, an icy glare met the older woman's passive look.

"Then why still follow their rules? We don't mind if you act like a child."

"Neither does our Captain." Nami added on with a snicker and Robin chuckled.

"If I go back I can't-"

"Do you want to go back?" Robin cut off his excuse with a question.

There was a thick pause after the question as Toshiro looked at the archeologist with wide eyes. Did he want to go back? As a loyal Soul Reaper he should have immediately responded with yes… but he couldn't form the word.

"You've seen other worlds now, is such a restricting society still good for you?" Robin's questions were innocent enough, but she had somehow snaked her way into a personal part of Toshiro's thoughts he was extremely uncomfortable being in. To even think of abandoning the world that was his home, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads…

They would kill him.

 _If they even find me_.

The whisper made him tense; that was a dangerous thought.

Noticing the turmoil in the other's teal eyes, Robin frowned, worried she had pushed too far. Her only goal had been to maybe break some of the chains Toshiro had put around himself that kept him in a corner. His beliefs and loyalty to his home were making it hard for him to adjust to his current situation, an ideal that his mistakes could only incur execution. After seeing him tear at his neck, she understood that someone had attempted to control him, but he seemed blind to the control his superiors already held on him. He was forced to fit a mold, one he had taken for his own safety, and stepping outside of it was terrifying to him. He knew nothing else.

"You have friends there right?" Nami spoke up, and Robin was grateful for the change in topic.

Some of the conflict easing, he turned to her with a clearer gaze.

"Yes… a few, though some might be… just because we work together."

"I bet they wouldn't care what rank you were." The navigator grinned, feeling this was a more successful route to try.

"You're… probably right… but I…" The conflict was still there, making the two ladies frown. They wanted to know what was holding him back, but asking outright was dangerous. After hearing about what happened when Law had tried to push him too far they didn't want a repeat.

Toshiro had come to terms with the fact that his true friends wouldn't mind what he was, but that wasn't what worried him. He could never easily put it into words why he had to be a certain way, why he couldn't step away from everything so easily. The simplest way to put it was he was afraid to disappoint. For so long, his only worth had been his powers, if he couldn't match up to expectations… why would anyone bother with him? Even though he knew there were people who didn't think that way about him… it wasn't that easy to let go. He couldn't lose that spot he'd fought so hard for on weak mistakes.

He tried to figure out how to put these thoughts into words before suddenly his field of view completely changed. He wasn't sure what had happened, only instead of the library with the two Straw Hat girls, he was surrounded by metal with two younger girls looking at him. The infirmary of the submarine.

"…it's hot." He stated first, the rise in temperature inside the metal walls the first thing his mind understood before he looked around. The girls shared glances before putting a hand to their mouths to stifle their laughter. They hadn't quite expected that reaction.

In his place back on the Sunny, Law looked between the two ladies in the library, noting their surprised and in Nami's case frustrated expressions.

"Did I interrupt something?" He could only assume they had been talking with the Nobody before he had switched himself with him.

Nami hit the table and took up an irritated tone with him, even more so when he just smirked at her reaction.

"Yes! You did!"

Once Toshiro had realized what had happened, he looked through the walls in the general direction of the Sunny with an irritated scowl. Basically, Dextra and Thursday had mostly gotten over their troubles with each other, but the latter wanted to do so with Toshiro as well, so their Papa had switched places with him using his powers. The scowl was more for the switching without warning than any other part of the plan.

"So, uh… you get some bad nightmares too, huh?" Thursday was the first to attempt a conversation after clearing her throat. At her words, Toshiro turned back to them, glancing at the heavy bandaging over Dextra's left side before turning away in shame. Seeing this, the older girl tried to get around to fixing things. "We're not mad or anything, just worried, I mean hell Dextra's scratched up more than one of us when she has a bad one."

She held up her shirt where clear talon marks could be seen across her side, scarred over and not too recent, but obviously were bad at one point. Dextra had a guilty look that matched Toshiro's.

"The problem is allowing it to happen in the first place." Toshiro argued, refusing their forgiveness. "And as for Hei-"

"Stop right there." Thursday immediately cut him off, looking annoyed. "Honestly I'm not surprised you had a nightmare with all this responsibility you shove onto yourself."

"Excuse me?" Toshiro was genuinely confused by the explanation he was just given.

"Any time something goes wrong you immediately take the blame for it. Nothing wrong with that, but this time it's not just you to blame. You've got way too much going on for everything to be on your shoulders, so cut it out." When he had no quick response, teal eyes wide as he listened closely, Thursday continued, relaxing her tone since she had his undivided attention. "If you're thinking his death is your fault because you brought the Heartless here, then don't, because clearly we don't have the full story. I really do think you came here for a reason, not by accident, even if you don't know it, and it's not your fault that everyone is chasing you. The disease wasn't your fault, you'd never seen it before, so you can't act like it was your job alone to stop it. And the stuff with your nightmare, everyone agrees that this darkness was using it to cause a lot of chaos, there was no way you could control it, isn't that why you asked Papa for help?"

Each of her points shattered any argument he had to maintain the blame on himself, especially the last bit, but he still felt inclined to make the same argument he had tried to make with Nami and Robin.

"As a Captain-"

"You're not Captain here." Dextra was the one to cut him off this time. "Is it really so important you do all of this alone? Even I didn't when my nightmares got bad."

The Nobody turned away from them, lost for words once again. He had been to so many worlds now, through so many battles, and through all of them he maintained his rank and ideals, choosing his actions in the name of Soul Society. Over time, Sora had begun to open up a part of him he had long since hidden away to protect himself, and certain people he met made him rethink how strictly he monitored himself. But this world… these people… they challenged everything he thought he was doing right and turned it upside down. Though separated from his beloved dragon as an empty shell of his former self, through the course of his journey he had come to realize he was much more than just a Soul Reaper… so even if his home rejected him, wouldn't he still have a purpose?

It was understandably hard for him to let go of the ties he'd fought so hard to make, to realize he did not need to try so hard to be what the other Captains expected him to be. This was a new world, a new adventure, and he wasn't just a Soul Reaper. Had he not promised himself upon awakening his Keyblade that he would fight for the strength to protect his friends? How could he possibly do that if he couldn't accept help in return from those friends?

"I'm… sorry… for Heinrich."

Thursday rolled her eyes and was about to reiterate her point when he continued to speak.

"It's hard to lose someone important, no matter the reason… I suppose I'm so used to being the reason I lose them I don't know how else to accept a loss."

The girls shared glances, frowning in worry after seeing his sad expression. The older nodded to the younger and Dextra took a few limping steps towards the solemn Nobody.

"Well, if you're interested, there's one way you can help us." She said. He turned to her with a curious look, interested. "We, um… we thought… we thought it might help all of us move on if… if we could give him a proper send off."

"Like a funeral?" He caught on quick enough, not seeming too surprised either.

"Yeah, but… well, there's not really anything to bury and… none of us have done one before." Thursday put in her word. "We thought, you being a spirit who sends off other spirits and all, you might have an idea. And it could help you too, if you help. A real funeral might be what we all need to feel better, and help him rest."

"I think his soul would appreciate that." Toshiro managed a tiny smile, agreeing with their idea, and the girls perked up. "I'll think of something."


	28. Warnings of an Ambush

After some discussion with their resident Reaper and adding Law back to the conversation as he returned to his own ship, the Heart Pirates came up with a plan for the next island. Some of the hostility Toshiro had felt among the other members of the crew seemed to lift quite a bit after he helped them figure out the best way to deal with the death of one of their own. Since Heartless left no form behind upon their destruction, all they could use was the hat he had left behind in the infirmary, given to him many years ago by the crew as a way of fully welcoming him, along with his fellow orphans. Toshiro said this was no problem, as anything with significance to the spirit of the deceased was enough to make a connection.

Upon reaching the next island, they could follow the plan properly, the Straw Hats hanging back in the waters until it was done as a sign of respect, allowing the crew their space. Most methods Toshiro knew people to deal with their dead involved cremation, allowing the spirit to be released – though he knew the spirit was already out the moment someone died, and cremation just helped sever the chain of fate so they couldn't try to repossess the body – but since there was nothing to burn and the spirit already loose, they skipped to burning incense and using the hat left behind as a focus for prayers. The pirates weren't super sure about the praying, but played along to help the children, who did the action willingly.

Thursday had to be helped around, still very weak as she recovered from the Stigma's effect on her body, and Dextra still had a limp, but that wouldn't stop them from this funeral. Book gladly helped his twin around and kept an eye on her so Law could focus on Thursday since she was sicker. Daniel followed around between the two with great concern but the girls assured him it was fine. The youngest of the orphans was front and center and unable to hold back tears for most of the ceremony.

No words were exchanged throughout the event, choosing silence to focus solely on Heinrich and his memory. Toshiro watched everything from the shore, not feeling comfortable taking part since he had never been part of the Heart Pirate family. Instead he observed the island, noticing how this shore was a tiny piece, and the only part that allowed for landing. The rest was steep and barren, the majority of the island rising up into a mountain. He wondered absentmindedly if this was just the top of one that went further into the ocean, though he supposed that was true for most islands. There was a distinct open cave that could be accessed by ship, and thankfully both the Sunny and the submarine were small enough to fit. It was their next task, exploring inside the mountain, but he would not rush their memorial.

Once they felt they had spent enough time, their shoulders feeling lighter, Thursday was allowed to carefully take the hat from where they had it and carefully wrapped it in a clean cloth. Law had Puffin help her back to the ship, watching them carefully, before turning to his crew about what was next.

"Thank you." Thursday said to Toshiro as she passed by him.

"Why are you thanking me?" He asked, confused.

"This all really helped. I mean it. I… I could have sworn I felt a pat on my head. He appreciated it, so thank you." She really did look like she had been given new life, standing tall and proud.

Toshiro could only nod, not wanting to ruin it. Spirits seemed to work differently here, after all, just because he didn't see one didn't mean they weren't there. If Heinrich had gathered enough energy to give at least her a sign he would believe it.

He was caught by surprise, then, as she stumbled over to give him a tight hug. He stiffened, never having been fond of contact and used to a particular woman almost strangling him every time she hugged him, but didn't push her off.

"I'm glad you feel better." He responded instead, trying his best to be supportive. He wasn't usually hugged or thanked for a death.

She pulled away with a smile and a nod, wiping a stray tear, before she returned to Puffin's side so he could gently help her back to the infirmary. A few moments after, Penguin and Shachi stepped over, the latter holding up an odd little creature in his hand.

"Alright, well, guess we should call the Straw Hats over." Shachi said with a long sigh, doing his best to move on quickly.

"Call?" Toshiro asked, looking oddly at what he now recognized to be a snail. It looked grumpy, with a hat that matched the Captain of the crew's own.

"Oh, I guess you've never seen us use the Den Den Mushi before." Penguin recalled. "Snail phones are super useful for long distance communication. Maybe you guys don't have something like that in Soul Society? Do you guys still use letters?"

"Sometimes, but usually we use Hell Butterflies or when we're in the World of the living just regular cell phones." Toshiro pulled out the small square object from his pocket. It still worked, but he had refused to use it, and in fact had turned it off in case they tried to use it to find him. He didn't want to be found until he fixed his current situation, and he didn't want to jeopardize that goal by Soul Society coming to arrest him.

"Whoa, that can make a call between realms?" Penguin looked uncertain, the tiny device hardly bigger than the snail in his hands, and this version of the Den Den Mushi could only make calls a certain distance, the bigger ones on the ships were used for long distance.

"We had to report in somehow." Toshiro shrugged, choosing not to mention that it could call between worlds as well, not wanting them to ask why he hadn't called home. "Why a snail though?"

"Hey, you said you used butterflies." Shachi defended.

"They can fly, so they're faster than the messengers for distributing orders. The butterflies are also what allow us to travel between Soul Society and the World of the Living, they are completely artificial to be used for those purposes."

"Damn, the dead guys have us beat…"

"Ah, who cares, just call." Penguin grumbled. He was interested in getting his hands on the phone, but noticing the stare Toshiro quickly hid it away. He might not want to be found yet, but he would still need it at some point, and the Head Captain would be pissed if he let pirates break it. He already expected an earful about the ruined uniform, even if they did accept him back, Yamamoto hated when Captains ruined the robes for no reason, as they were a symbol of status.

The snail perked its attention up and mouthed out the sounds of a ringing phone. It only took two turns before it mimicked what sounded like Jimbei's voice.

" _Are you sure you don't want more time?_ " The fishman skipped greetings since they knew who to expect, his tone gentle since he knew what they were dealing with.

"No, I think we're all good here, Captain says a few of us are gonna jump on with you guys to explore the cave, hopefully there's something useful here." Shachi answered.

There was the distant sound of Luffy shouting excitedly for adventure and Nami yelling at him to be quiet before Jimbei's voice took over. For each different voice the snail seemed to change its expression and movement to match the speaker. It was very odd for Toshiro to see.

" _We'll make a stop for whoever is going then._ " Then there was a click and the snail went back to sleep.

"Weird." Toshiro muttered at the creature, turning a glare on the mechanics when they snickered at him.

The Sunny began to approach the shore slowly, aimed towards the river leading into the cave and stopping near an outcropping of rock rather than the shore. There, Franky was able to just spread some planks across for people to walk on. Law approached the trio already near the shore.

"Ready?" He asked, not needing to tell them they were going to. He couldn't exactly choose Toshiro's path for him, and his trusted engineers always went with him. Bepo was at his side holding his sword, never far from the surgeon.

"Yup!" Shachi saluted. "Maybe the mountain has a ton of gems in it, if nothing else."

"With a barren land like this, anything other than rock would be surprising." Law agreed with a shrug.

Dextra popped up at his side, if a bit slowly with her limp, and like Thursday looked a lot better than she had previously.

"How's the neck, Toshiro?" She asked.

The Nobody just blinked at first, confused, before realizing he'd forgotten all about the bandages around his neck. The moment he thought about them the itch to take them off came back, but he was surprised he'd let them stay so long. Turning his head didn't hurt anymore, either, so he was hopeful he could remove them and stop worrying about it.

"I guess I'll double check with Chopper if I can take them off." He responded.

"I'm a doctor too, you know." Law said with a single brow raised, the smirk on his face suggesting he wasn't being mean about it.

"True, I just thought since he put them on he would have the first say."

"Fair enough, but he trusts my word just fine, and I trust his. He's very good for being so young."

"He did help figure out the Stigma." Dextra added.

"Yes, which I'm very grateful for." The Captain nodded. "I was assuming a virus considering its behavior, but his knowledge in plant based ailments helped him notice what I ignored."

"I am interested in how it worked so well against not just the sickness, but the Heartless as well." Toshiro spoke up. As he did so, Hyorinmaru moved from out of his shadow – he'd retreated there after returning earlier with no spoils from his hunt in the sea in a foul mood – and moved to his master's shoulder. "Hyorinmaru wasn't heavily affected, but the snow I made with the cure was irritating to him. It makes sense since the stigma was based on the darkness in them, but it was interesting to see it could hurt them."

"I was thinking about it as well; it could be useful if put into a weaponized form." Law mused aloud, Toshiro nodding his agreement. If the cure could hurt Heartless, it was possible to give it to those unable to hurt the creatures on their own and give them some kind of defense they otherwise didn't have.

"What an unfortunate turn of events." The voice echoing over them made everyone tense, turning towards the source as a burst of green fire brought a figure into their sight. She was up on a ledge of the mountain, able to speak with them fine but out of easy reach.

"Maleficent!" Toshiro growled out the name. This was the worst time for her to appear. The Straw Hats had never seen her before, but they could tell she was bad news, prepped for a fight.

"Greetings, dear, did you enjoy my gift?" The witch sneered down at them all. A pitch black raven with a smug expression alighted on the top of her staff.

"What gift?" Came the scowled response.

"Why, surely you haven't forgotten it? And I worked so hard on it, too." The pout on her lips was clearly fake, proven as she gave a malicious laugh at their irritated expressions.

"Say what needs to be said and get on with it!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to get angry if I were you, my dear, that lovely nightmare I gave you should have reminded you of that." Her chuckle was packed full of smug evil.

Dextra turned in time to see the color drain from Toshiro's face and his eyes expressing only horror as the realization struck. Hyorinmaru gave an angry snarl on his shoulder.

"Hey, wait, YOU did that to him!?" Nami was surprisingly the first to call out, pointing accusingly at the dark fairy with fury in her eyes.

"So I DID sense something nearby." Zoro scowled, unsheathing a blade in each hand, ready to strike.

"It was an absolute joy to craft, and so much to use, I hope everyone had fun with the consequences." Maleficent waved her hands towards them, clearly feeling pretty good about her success. "Oh, I see someone got hurt, too." Her gaze focused on Dextra, who tensed, before Law stepped in between the two with a fierce scowl that only made her laugh again.

She was about to continue her boasting, Toshiro holding his hands over his ears as if to block her out, when something flew right past her head, startling her. There was a screech and something hit the ground, and in alarm she turned to see what had happened. The rubbery arm of a certain Straw Hat snapped back across the distance to the furious owner of the body, and her raven lay crumpled on the rocks. Luffy had struck down her companion.

"You shut up right now!" Luffy shouted viciously. He may have only known the Nobody for one island, but he was already a friend to him. Weird and a little broken, but a friend, and if there was one thing Luffy was known for, it was beating down anyone who hurt his friends.

"You…insolent little ape!" Now Maleficent was angry, green fire licking at her robes to further express her rage. She had not expected such a bold move. "I will be back for you… in the meantime, I hope those waiting for you in the mountain damage you beyond repair!" With a flurry of her cloak and a slam of her staff on the ground, she vanished in fire, taking her raven with her, leaving only the ominous message in her stead.

"Waiting for us?" Usopp gulped nervously, more nervous than he had been previously about going inside the cave.

While the others muttered to each other about whether or not the witch was lying or if they should move on to the next island just in case, Dextra turned towards Toshiro, Law observing from where he was in case the shock caused another episode of darkness. The Nobody's hands were shaking and he definitely looked spooked.

"Toshiro?" Dextra used a gentle tone as others had when he was like this, reaching out to carefully touch him.

He jumped away at her touch, startled, but it did what it needed to do. Once he was focused back on reality he took a few deep breaths with his eyes closed.

"The witch is just as bad as you said she was." Law spoke up, glad to see Toshiro had control this time.

"She's underhanded and manipulative, anything to get her way." Toshiro added on, barely holding back his anger. "Whether it's gods or children, if she can use them she will."

"And apparently dreams."

Toshiro said nothing, just scowled, though the approach of some of the Straw Hats would have cut off any words he had. Luffy was still steaming and wanted to know about Maleficent, while Nami and Chopper just wanted to see if he was okay. Toshiro first asked Chopper if it was alright to remove his bandages, and while the reindeer took care of that he explained what he could from his brief interactions with Maleficent, especially her constant attempts to win him to her side using any bit of his past she could dig up.

"At this point she seems to be trying to isolate me." He finished his explanation, rubbing at his now bandage free neck. The scars were hardly any more noticeable than the ones that had already been there. "By putting me back in a situation where everyone keeps away from me, she probably thinks she can approach as a friend and make me her ally."

"A dirty trick for sure." Law frowned, glancing for a brief second at Dextra. Toshiro noticed but said nothing, not wanting to pry into a past he had no right to, especially with how defensive Dextra got last time he tried. It was not necessary for him to know, the problem now was Maleficent and whoever she seemed to know was inside the cave.

"Next time I hit her face!" Luffy saw no problem with this idea, despite hearing how easy it was for her to disappear, and looked like a bull ready to charge if she dared to show her face in the next few moments.

"I doubt she'd make it that easy." Toshiro sighed. "More importantly, we need to be ready for whatever is inside."

"I really don't think we should explore in there, there's obviously an ambush." Nami argued, glancing at the mountain in worry. "I for one don't want to go walking in there."

"It could just be a farce, there could be something valuable in there she doesn't want us to find." The Nobody countered, standing firm on the idea of exploring. There was a curiosity growing within him, and he wanted to know what was inside.

"It could be more trouble than it's worth." Law seemed to be more on Nami's side, wary of risking their group after an obvious threat, and with no knowledge of anything worthwhile to be had. "The island has nothing on it, I doubt inside will provide anything for us either, best to hurry out to the next island and hope for better supply chances."

The doctor turned back to Toshiro to see if he disagreed still, knowing the Reaper to be more logical than most, only to find Toshiro's gaze fixed firmly on the cave entrance. Luffy was of course off to the side demanding to go in and challenge whatever poor sap was waiting to mess with them, still in a foul mood, but that voice didn't seem to reach Toshiro. The Nobody seemed to have a different need to go inside, not to rise to a challenge but to search for something.

"What is it you think we'll find in there?" Law questioned, curious.

"I… don't know. Call it a hunch, but there's something in there I want to find."

Hyorinmaru gave a rumble of agreement from his master's shoulder.

"What kind of smell?" Chopper, who had been fairly quiet until then, asked after hearing the dragon's comment. He listened to Hyorinmaru's reply and looked intrigued. "Something familiar? To you? But I thought neither of you had been here."

"He might have." Toshiro responded in a vague tone. The other gave him odd looks, wanting answers, but he said nothing else.

"Oh, does this have to do with that guardian thing Maleficent mentioned before?" Dextra asked, perking up as she remembered.

"Guardian?" Nami wondered aloud as Toshiro nodded to her. "Wait, what's this about a guardian? Hyorinmaru?"

"He says his master is the Heavenly Guardian, and that he pledged his loyalty and power to the first one centuries ago." Chopper translated the growls.

"There's a lot I still don't know about it, only that I'm a reincarnation." Toshiro added on. He had never fully explained this role to the others, even the Heart Pirates, and still couldn't fully explain it simply because he himself was still very in the dark on the subject. "It's why I have a Keyblade, and why they're after my power."

"Wow, that sounds powerful." Chopper looked excited.

"It… might be… there's still so much I don't know, so much that hasn't been explained to me. I don't have a grasp on what I'm supposed to do with this role at all." Toshiro summoned his Keyblade to hand and looked over it as if it held the answers to all his questions. "Plus, with me being a Nobody now… I don't know if the role even wants me anymore."

"I suppose that's up to you in the end." Law stated, deciding this was something too big for them to get into, especially if Toshiro himself didn't understand it. "You asked me to help fix you two, so there's still hope."

"True…" Toshiro glanced at the Keyblade before letting it vanish back into light and looking back up at the others. "In any case, it's like Hyorinmaru said, there's something in that cave I need to see for myself. Whether it helps me or not I don't know, but Maleficent wouldn't have someone there to ambush us if it did nothing."

"Well, it's not like Luffy will argue." The Straw Hat navigator huffed, looking at her Captain in irritation. Between Luffy's itch for a fight and Toshiro's curiosity there was no more point arguing about whether or not they would go in, now it was just who. The Sunny would still be making the trip, so those not wanting to go were staying out of the mountain with the submarine to look out for trouble approaching from the waters.

"Let's go then." Law sighed, heading towards the lion-headed ship. The quicker he got this over with the better, and he was sure some of the others felt the same.

Their foe awaited them patiently inside, deep within the caves.


	29. A Maze of Old Memories

The Thousand Sunny headed slowly into the dark caves, lamps lit up on the ship to light their way, Franky steering carefully to ensure the jagged walls didn't catch any part of her. They were just barely small enough. On the ship, the only Straw Hats missing were Chopper – he was asked to stay behind to watch Dextra since she was too injured to risk a fight and Chopper wasn't keen on going in – Zoro, and Brook. Law brought with him a select few of his own crew; Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, Jean Bart, and Thursday, the latter only because she felt she needed to get back in action so as not to go stir crazy. Law only agreed after a few of the Straw Hats promised to keep an eye on her.

Once the entrance was barely a light in the background, they came across a sort of shore inside the mountain, forcing the ship to a stop. Several tunnels led further into the mountain, snaking out of sight in any possible direction. It had to be man-made, as one path had a visible stairway going back up towards the mountain peak, and everything was smoothed and lined with dim lanterns. It seemed as though a village could potentially live in the mountains, but all the pirates could think about was Maleficent's foreboding words. Plus, they saw not a single living being roaming the rocky paths.

Toshiro moved to stand at the front of the ship, minding where Luffy's spot was on the lion's head since said Captain was sitting there with a focused expression and a frown. There the Nobody looked between the tunnels with his own thoughtful look, Hyorinmaru at his shoulder looking intrigued.

"Sense anything?" Law asked him, as Toshiro's perception was capable of being more focused than Observation Haki. Those who had it were still watching out, tense, but until it was a threat closer to them there wasn't much they could do. Usopp looked nervous though. His Haki skills were still new and in need of training, but he had a much wider range on par with the Soul Reaper's ability and he caught wind of something the same time Toshiro did.

"It seems like there's a few people moving through the tunnels. I can't seem to find whatever it is I'm looking for, however… it's likely it won't have a noticeable presence."

"So other than a gut feeling you're going blind." Sanji mused. "I wonder who those people are, they might not be a threat at all and she wanted us to think they were to pick a fight."

"They definitely seem… odd." Toshiro responded with a frown, trying to narrow his search and figure out what was so strange.

"Odd?" A couple people spoke up and asked.

"It's a similar energy as those of you with Devil Fruits…" He had more, but couldn't figure out how to explain it. The Devil Fruit users all had the same add on to their aura, but otherwise they were still unique signals, these were not. If he used the Spirit Ribbons he could probably track down the source as then he would be able to sense them better, but before he could, someone stepped out of one of the tunnels. She hadn't been there before, both Toshiro and Usopp could only think she came out of the walls somehow, her presence suddenly very apparent where it hadn't been before.

She grinned underneath her blood red hood and everyone tensed. Some of her purple hair was sticking out, the red and black jacket fitting over her slim form open at the bottom to show red stockings and boots to match her hair. She lifted her hand in a 'come hither' motion before turning to run back into the tunnels with a giggle.

"I'll follow you anywhere, sweetheart~" Sanji did indeed seem ready to leap off the ship after the woman until Nami grabbed him by the scruff and made him sit in place.

"She's not even in the same tunnel anymore." Toshiro warned them. "That must be what the other presences are, something she can switch to, which is why they feel the same."

"It's not an impossible ability, which means we'll definitely need to keep an eye out." Robin looked concerned by this teleporting foe. "Perhaps we split up? She may have the answers you need and we would have a better chance of catching her using more tunnels."

"Is splitting up really a good idea?" Usopp wasn't so sure about a plan that weakened their group.

"She can't be all that strong." Nami looked fairly confident considering she was usually with Usopp on staying out of a fight, but it seemed if teleporting was all their opponent was capable of she wasn't too worried. "I can still make some fun weather in here with my climatact, let's see her get away from a quick zap!" She winked.

"It's definitely helpful that you can still manipulate weather, since I'll be limited in a tight space with little water." Toshiro spoke up and she beamed at the compliment from someone capable of making a powerful blizzard on command. She stood a little taller, definitely confident against their opponent.

"If she's with the gray hag I'm gonna kick her ass!" Luffy was, naturally, ready to go and wasting no time, somehow latching onto Law as he launched off the ship and right into the tunnel they had seen the woman vanish into. They could hear Law's angry shouts go quiet the further they went in as everyone stood on the ship watching, processing the event.

"Luffy really is the only person Papa can't handle." Thursday finally said with a giggle. A few others snickered in agreement while Toshiro just shook his head, having seen such attitudes before.

"I'll hang back with the ship in case this SUPER teleporter tries to sabotage us." Franky said firmly, not one to leave the beloved Sunny unguarded.

"Oh, we can too, if that's alright." Shachi spoke up for himself and Penguin. As fellow engineers they felt they would be most useful with a ship. Franky gave them a thumbs up to say he was cool with it.

"Allow me to protect you, wonderful ladies~!" Sanji crooned, spinning over to the three girls present.

"Very well." Robin agreed with a smile, though her goal was more to protect Sanji from the whims of their female enemy than to let him protect her, and she wanted to keep an eye on Thursday since Law had been dragged off by her Captain.

"Oh, I was going to go with Toshiro, the cold air he makes will be helpful for me." Nami said with a wink. Sanji looked betrayed while the Nobody being spoken of gave Nami a suspicious look after hearing she wanted to use his powers for her own. As they were talking, Jimbei reassured Usopp while they took off down a tunnel and Bepo went with his crewmate Jean Bart down a different one, both groups choosing a different one than the tunnel Luffy had sprinted down. "Can't just let him go alone now can we?"

"Damn you, midget…" Sanji growled.

"How is this my fault, twig leg?" Toshiro shot back, bristling at the insult. The air had a static feel as cold settled into the air around one and heat rose around the other.

"Let's not waste any more time, shall we?" Robin walked between the two and, with Thursday close beside her, headed off the ship. Sanji was quick to follow, back to his usual self, leaving Toshiro to follow him with only a glare.

"Don't mind him, he pretends to be every girl's knight in a suit." Nami chuckled. Though still peeved, Toshiro let the temperature return to normal with a grumble and let it go. "So, which way is your gut telling you to go?"

Calming down, Toshiro thought about it for a moment, focusing on the tiny soundless whisper beckoning him into the mountain. Hyorinmaru lifted up his head for a moment before taking off.

"We follow him." Toshiro turned back to Nami with a shrug. "Oddly enough, ever since he turned into a Heartless, he's remembered more than I have about his first partners, my predecessors, so he likely can locate it better."

"Fair enough, as long as he doesn't get big and block the tunnel." Nami waved to the trio staying behind before she and Toshiro hopped off the ship and followed after the black dragon. He ended up going into the same tunnel Law and Luffy had gone through, but it became clear even then there were multiple paths beyond the ones at the start, a true maze.

This was going to be a difficult hunt.

With the first group, Luffy finally skidded himself to a halt and Law was able to finally get loose from the rubber man's grip and stand on his own to catch his breath. Needless to say, the doctor was extremely irritated and had no qualms showing every bit of it with a vicious scowl and killer glare.

"What?" Luffy asked, oblivious to why Law would be so mad at him.

"We are now COMPLETELY lost." Law growled. "If she can teleport what gives you the idea running randomly into a tunnel will get us any closer to her!?"

"But she went down this one, it's not random." Luffy pointed out as if that was obvious.

"It doesn't matter which one she ran down, if she teleports, she could be in any of them!" The surgeon tried to explain, still very angry and getting worse by the minute.

"Then we gotta run down all of them." Luffy still didn't seem too concerned with his plan, picking at his nose without a care. Law continued to fume for a moment before he forced himself to turn away and take a few deep breaths before he killed his fellow Captain.

As Law stopped to recover his usual composure, Luffy turned to look ahead into the tunnel, wondering where to run to next. There was another opening into a separate tunnel a little bit ahead of them, and a different one even further up before it curved out of sight. They had passed under a tunnel that went straight up, but he ignored that one since there wasn't anything to climb on. While he was picking a route randomly from the choices he could see, he spotted a tall figure round the curve and start heading towards them. In the dim lights provided by the lamps within the tunnels, Luffy could see a white coat resting on the figure's shoulders, and a suit of red. His heart sank and all thought left him.

At the same time, Law spotted someone making their way towards them from behind, trapping them, and he had to remember to breathe again after his breath caught at the sight of a familiar pink feather jacket, his eyes wide in shock.

Similar scenarios were forming with each group as the multiple presences they had noticed earlier appeared before them all, trapping them. Their target had not been alone, and they could only assume her teleporting ability allowed her to set this up. At least one enemy of the past appeared before each group, sometimes two to match the number of people in the group. Usopp shuddered under the stare of Kaku, the man who tried to have the Going Merry, the predecessor of the Thousand Sunny, unfairly scrapped and destroyed. Robin froze in place when she spotted Lucci standing calmly in their way, the cat man's presence bringing forth terrible memories for her. Sanji scowled back at the blue haired Niji, one of his brothers from a family he had disowned and left behind and had hoped to never deal with again after they had disrupted his life once already. A gross figure of a woman held an iron bat threateningly towards Thursday with a leer, and the tall teen cringed back. Everyone but Jimbei had a cruel face of the past in front to haunt them.

Nami herself had Arlong, the Fishman sneering down at her over his saw tooth nose and looking ready to force her back into stealing for him, tossing an orange up in the air casually before just tossing it to the side. He was still every bit as threatening as he was when she worked for him before.

But she had vastly matured, and while shaken from his sudden appearance, she steeled her nerves and held up her weapon in preparation to defend herself. Toshiro made no move to help, but she did not look behind her to see what he was up to, as she didn't want to let the shark have an opening on her in the narrow tunnel.

However, she couldn't ignore the deathly chill that took over the tunnel just as she unleashed what seemed to be a thundercloud from her climatact. She gasped, tensing up, and her opponent donned a frown as he looked past her nervously. The thundercloud seemed to grow a face and made a surprised expression of his own at the current situation, sensing something dangerous to his existence. With the sudden shift, Nami couldn't help but look behind her now.

The man himself didn't look like much, dressed in white, plain brown hair, and simple square glasses. But when she looked to his eyes, the stare she got back made her break out into a cold sweat. He smiled at her, almost kindly, but the look in his eyes was pure, untamed evil. She was a flea to him, and under his stare she definitely felt like it.

"What an interesting group you've managed to get stuck with, Hitsugaya." The man's voice was smooth, almost hypnotic, but it made her shudder.

"M-m-master, who are these scary spirits?" The thundercloud asked of Nami.

She couldn't answer, still shaking before this strange man. Behind her, Arlong took a few steps forward with an angry scowl.

"Oi, this one's mine to deal with, take the runt and bug off." The fishman snarled. The stranger just smiled a tiny bit more and Nami suddenly felt a huge weight lift off of her, allowing her to breathe again. She was able to glance at Toshiro now, the small figure not moving where he stood and dark blue frost spreading out over the rocks from his position. The man in white didn't look at all concerned about the chill.

She was concerned for the Nobody, worried who this terrifying man was to appear before Toshiro and cause such a sharp reaction from him, but she forced herself to look back at Arlong. The Fishman was grinning again, apparently not caring about the stranger at all anymore. Though still spooked at the peculiar circumstances of this fight, the thundercloud hovered by the woman, ready to assist her.

Toshiro himself was still trying to understand the possible reasons for the presence of Aizen Sosuke on this world. The cold he was not able to help, his hatred of the man too strong to completely disregard, even as a Nobody. He did, however, manage to hold himself back from attacking immediately, hands clenched tightly in fists to help keep him grounded. His fight with Xemnas many weeks ago had not faded from his mind, he could not immediately believe that the man in front of him was actually Aizen. If their enemy's ability was truly teleportation… there was a slim, but almost insignificantly small possibility she was able to get Aizen out of his bindings and bring him here. That would mean she had to know him, and Toshiro doubted Aizen would extend his reach to this world when he was already plotting with Xehanort and his two halves as well as trying to take over Soul Society. Aizen had many plans, but there was no way he could have gone this far.

The hatred subsided a bit as he determined this couldn't in any way be the real Aizen, but his guard was still firmly up since he didn't know who would show up pretending to be the traitor.

"The longer you stand there thinking, Hitsugaya, the more you are likely to lose." The enemy chuckled, the only thing that contradicted the otherwise kind tone. "Though I commend you for not immediately going for the kill; I suppose you don't want a repeat of what happened to dear Hinamori."

Toshiro stiffened again, donning a scowl even as his thoughts were thrown for a loop. Very, VERY few people among his enemies knew about that. Could it be Xemnas again? Had his hunch been right about the Nobody not being dead? Between him and Aizen, Xemnas was more likely to have allies on multiple worlds, and therefore more capable of controlling the darkness.

Following his thoughts, Hyorinmaru leaped from his shadow in the biggest form he could take in the narrow tunnels and still move freely, fangs bared at what was potentially the being that placed a collar on his master and controlled them both. Aizen didn't so much as flinch at the oncoming Heartless, simply grinning instead, and as the red flags went up Toshiro shouted at his dragon to stop, hoping he wasn't too late.

Elsewhere, similar fights were breaking out. With Sanji, as he focused on dealing with his brother and ignoring the constant verbal jabs and threats sent his way to rile him up, Robin held her own against Lucci and the strange woman going after Thursday. In fact, the woman wasn't all that hard to deal with, and ended up taking off at some point. Lucci cared little, the well-dressed CP9 agent focused on his own target as if the hag didn't exist. Thankfully, his huge leopard form was a disadvantage to him in the tunnels, and Robin was able to hold him back and fend him off with relative ease. She had plenty of walls and other surfaces to place her extra limbs.

"You did better when you were alone." The leopard man growled out, choosing to keep a bit of distance now where she was less inclined to strike.

"Being alone were the worst years of my life." Robin argued back, trying to make sure she stayed between the agent and Thursday.

"You're alone now, so stop acting like a guardian."

Confused by his word, Robin dared a glance back, gasping when she noticed Thursday was not behind her as she had been a moment ago, and Sanji was realizing this as well pinned to the wall by Niji.

"Some gentleman you claim to be, can't even take care of a kid." The engineered human sneered at the blonde.

Scowling, Sanji put a foot up on the wall and pushed off as hard as he could, using his shoulder to shove his brother into the other wall. He could care less about the bastard right now, he had to figure out how Thursday vanished when there were only two directions. She hadn't gone past either of them and there were no other tunnels, so where could she have gone?

Thursday herself wasn't quite sure either. She had been behind Robin with her favorite knife, one intricately carved with a wolf's head, at the ready to help, when she noticed a tunnel open up next to her and a blur of feathers pull her inside. Now she was in a small room within the mountain with no tunnels out, and across from her holding the only light source for them both was an odd figure. She wasn't the red and black cloaked woman who ran into the tunnels before, but Thursday still kept her guard up. The feathers came from a pair of large white wings on the woman's back, and her lower legs were bird legs. Was she one of those humanoid animals like Bepo, a Mink? But the rest of her was human, with wavy green hair and semi-fair skin from head to her knees before the scales. Thursday imagined she wore shorts due to her odd leg shape and a dark shirt.

"Who are you?" Thursday demanded, if a little shaky as she still wasn't fully recovered, as well as a bit spooked by her sudden change in location. She raised her dagger to at least put up a front that she would fight back.

"Whoa, uh, not your enemy." The winged woman backed up a step and tucked her wings to look smaller, hands up in surrender. "I was just getting you out of there. If you get in a small room like this, the puppets can't follow you."

Thursday blinked, confused. Multiple questions were forming, such as how they got in a small enclosed space to begin with, but one pushed itself to the front and came out before the others.

"Puppets?"


	30. The Chaos Trap Revealed

The tunnels were shifting and changing without anyone's notice, appearing as if they had always been as such, keeping the groups running around endlessly to never find each other. Sitting on the branch of a carved stone tree, the purple-haired woman swung her legs back and forth and laughed gleefully. Her power was perfect here within the mountain. No one would be able to see the truth. She would have these pirates running around all day with her friends until they could stand it no more. The tunnels changed to her will, shifting like snakes to keep everyone separated and confused.

" _The moon is dancing in a chaos of visions,_

 _Blood red colors that penetrates mind and soul my head is to explode ~_

 _My body dies,_

 _It's coming, the coming of chaos ~_

 _Chaos come, chaos come closer.._ "

She laughed wickedly at the end of her song before stretching her senses out through her tunnels. It wasn't so much Haki as it was a perception of her ability to spy on any living being trapped inside her cage. The two Captains were lit up in a rage like wonderful little fires, the women were fearful and concerned, the sniper was a blubbering mess hiding behind false bravado, the fishman was standing firm but worried, the Heart Pirates were fighting desperately for a way out. Satisfied that even the firm of heart were still trapped in her spell, she turned her focus to her target of choice. The little Reaper Nobody.

"Come play, little moon, your queen awaits ~. " She sang, putting a wall between Toshiro and the only other living person near him, forcing him and his dragon onto a path to her. "Bring him to me, dear toy ~. "

As the woman set her sights on Toshiro, the others were doing their best to get away from their nightmares. In particular, Usopp was trapped between his feeling of wanting to get away from Kaku, remembering his last encounter with the giraffe man and his fellow agents, and wanting to pay Kaku back for everything he put Usopp and his friends through. His arsenal was much better than last time, but Kaku looked stronger too, the square-nosed man standing firm and intimidating.

"Something is not quite right, my friend." Jimbei spoke up. The three of them were lucky enough to stumble upon Kaku in a more open area of the mountain and the fishman took advantage to try and get around to the side. Somehow, this maneuver was surprisingly easy, and it was this that put Jimbei on guard.

"I see you replaced your ship." Kaku spoke up as if Jimbei hadn't said a word, cutting off Usopp's reply. "So I was right after all, wasn't I? Your ship was doomed and you finally got a better one. Such an old model wasn't going to survive long anyway."

"Merry was an amazing ship, she came to get us!" Usopp snapped, pulling back the strings of his slingshot.

"Usopp, wait!" Jimbei made the sniper pause. "Do not let him provoke you."

"That doesn't change the fact that it was done and should have been scrapped." Again, Kaku seemed to ignore Jimbei's attempts to diffuse the tension. Usopp was picking up on the same thing as the fishman now, noticing something odd about Kaku's presence.

"I believe this is a stalling attempt." Jimbei was able to get within feet of Kaku and the agent didn't so much as glance at him. Though they could not understand the reasons behind it, their enemy's focus was not capable of being spread so thin, and as such her 'toys' were lacking in certain senses.

"He's… he's fake?" Usopp lowered his slingshot.

The word 'fake' seemed to echo, and the image of Kaku flickered, making both men tense.

"That changes nothing." 'Kaku' stated in a monotone voice. "You were deemed unimportant to my master, weak. It does not matter what you learn, you are trapped in her maze."

"We seem to have misunderstood our enemy's ability." Jimbei scowled.

"Each one of you faces a ghost of your past, never to know if they are real, forever separated by a constantly shifting maze." The puppet explained. "There is no hope. Only chaos."

"Well for starters you underestimated who the weak one is!" Finding some of his bravery, Usopp took a shot with a seed. Kaku casually blocked it only for it to explode into vines that constricted around him, disrupting the image and revealing a grotesque body dummy mixed from rock and flesh. With a swift move, Jimbei broke apart the weakened creature and they watched it shatter and vanish. "Oh yeah! How's that two-hundred million bounty for ya!?"

"There is no time, Usopp, if everyone is dealing with these we must hurry and help." Jimbei said with a warning, cutting the celebration short. He was concerned for his companions, knowing at least a few would be facing some terrifying foes.

"Oh, yeah, how come you didn't have one Jimbei?" Usopp asked curiously even as he followed after the fishman through the tunnels.

Curious about that now as well, the fishman took a moment to think.

"Perhaps I have come to terms with the ghosts of my past, and so none of them could come back to me." He finally responded with a slight smile. "Or perhaps our enemy thinks a Fishman is not worth her time."

"Well we'll show her!"

"Indeed we will!"

Elsewhere in the endless maze, Luffy stumbled back from another unsuccessful hit on the man who murdered his precious brother Ace, Akainu. The lava user was absolutely fatal to approach in such close quarters as the tunnels, his arms dripping lava that seeped through the stone floors, the light of the liquid fire almost blinding compared to the dim lamps. Law helped his fellow Captain stand back up though he refused to turn his gaze from the sneer that never left the face of his worst enemy, Doflamingo. The pair of giant humans had them trapped, the tunnels barely tall enough for them, and both had abilities that were devastating in a small area.

"Still just an angry brat with nowhere to go." Doflamingo snickered, pulling his hand through the air as if clawing at something. In the dimly lit tunnels, the strings were barely noticed, and though he braced for it Law still let out a pained cry at the sudden gashes across his arm.

"Torao!" Luffy turned around with a fierce scowl as the older pirate stumbled back against him. Doflamingo had gone for the sword arm, forcing Law to drop his blade and hold his arm to his chest as pain shot through his whole body.

"Best not to turn your back to me." Akainu's gruff voice made Luffy turn back towards the Marine, a lava covered fist aimed at them both.

"Back off!" In a sort of panic at seeing the attack that had killed his brother coming at him once more, Luffy used his Conqueror's Haki to protect himself and Law. The wave of willpower brought down a heavy weight in the tunnel, seeking the weak minded to weaken and knock out. Law shook his head to clear away the dizziness of the effect, wondering if his ally had made it stronger since they had last met, or if it was just his rage fueling it.

He did, however, stay clear-headed enough to notice something interesting. In the after effects of Luffy's Haki, Doflamingo did stumble back, which was the first odd thing. The pink covered pirate had the Conqueror's Haki as well, so should have been fine. The other odd thing was how the man's outline seemed to go fuzzy, as if he was beginning to disappear. Despite these weird changes, though, the smile never left his face. Turning, Law noticed Akainu had stumbled away as well, the bright lava flickering in and out before solidifying again.

"Straw Hat… I think we're being tricked." Law spoke up with a scowl, the pain subsiding enough he could grab his sword.

"Huh?" Having taken no notice of the odd behavior, Luffy looked back at his companion in confusion as Law stood again.

"When you used your Haki just now, I think we caught a glimpse of their true nature." Law turned a fierce glare on Doflamingo. "Not to mention… these two haven't paid any attention to one another."

"So?"

"So, do you really think Akainu would be okay with fighting alongside a pirate, even a Shichibukai?"

Taking a moment to think, Luffy agreed that it was odd, as Akainu never stopped spouting how much he hated all pirates, even the ones who allied with the Marines.

"So you're not even real!?" Luffy shouted at the lava man accusingly.

"And?" Akainu scoffed. "You still going to let your brother's executioner walk away?"

"Like Hell-!"

"Straw Hat, don't get provoked." Law snapped.

"Hey brother."

Luffy could pretty much feel Law go stiff as they were back to back, and he looked back at the taller man in concern. Looking past him, he saw a small brown haired girl had replaced the giant Doflamingo, her skin patched with white and a scared look on her face. Who was she?

"You promised it would get better." The little girl whimpered, sniffling as tears formed in her eyes. "Why did I have to burn? Why!?"

"Lami, I-" Law's shaky response was cut off as Luffy latched onto him and pushed him aside into a new tunnel that hadn't been there before. Fire raced past the two from an attack by the Akainu look-a-like, right towards the image of the little girl. "No!"

"Come on!" Luffy forced the reluctant surgeon away from the two puppets, fleeing down the tunnels to get away from this continuing nightmare.

Still hidden away in a cut off room somewhere in the endless maze, Thursday took in everything she was told by the Human-Mink girl, who gave her name as Tebliel.

"So, this Lacia woman… everything in this mountain is her power?" Thursday asked, trying to clarify.

"Sort of. The mountain itself used to just have that cave you came in through and just a small tunnel, but with her Chaos-Chaos fruit, Lacia was free to make whatever she wanted within the boundaries of the mountain. It's easier for her when she has a set area to focus on, and since we can't see the sky no one realizes the changes." Tebliel explained carefully. "Same for her puppets. With her fruit, she can make parasites that feed off the negative memories of whoever she attaches them to, so at least she can only do one parasite a person. The more chaotic negative feelings a person has, the stronger and more effective the puppet. That's why she makes the mazes, too, to separate groups so the puppets don't have to worry about more than one target. A whole mess of Chaos to destroy her prey's mind."

"But then, how do we stop her?" Worried for her Papa and crew, the young woman wanted answers to fight against this plague.

"Getting everyone back together helps, because the parasites can only interact with their own target, so they don't respond or fight back against other targets. They will avoid each other as well unless they try to switch targets, which is the only time they even acknowledge one another. Naturally the best thing to do is go after Lacia herself, but she'll usually put herself in a room like this within her maze."

"So um, have you dealt with Lacia before?"

Tebliel shuffled nervously, her talons scraping against the stone.

"No… I mean, not as her… enemy." The winged woman said nervously.

Thursday narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Okay, that sounded bad, but look I was getting info on her for my boss because we weren't sure if she'd be a threat, because she works for this weird silver-haired guy." Tebliel spoke quickly, trying to explain her defense for knowing so much about the Chaos user. "My boss knows him, but she thought maybe we could use Lacia in our own way, but I didn't want to leave you guys helpless either. Lacia is gonna be after that white-haired kid so-"

"She's after Toshiro?" Thursday's eyes widened, and the other woman nodded.

"That whole bit I don't really know about, I just had to make sure I knew how Lacia worked so I could get in and get that boy out of here, my boss wants to help him."

"Who is your boss?" Hopeful for some assistance against the otherworldly foes that kept coming for their new friend, Thursday asked the dangerous question. Her heart sank at the answer.

"Maleficent." Tebliel answered with a kind smile. "She saved me some time ago, and she heard about the boy Lacia's after and wants to help him too! She's very powerful!"

The boy they spoke of wasn't quite sure when he got separated, but after Hyorinmaru had attacked the figure appearing as Aizen he had followed them down the tunnel and lost track of Nami. Turning back did him no good as the path had completely changed, a fact he took note of and understood wasn't good for them. Their enemy had baited them perfectly.

"Whoever you are, I won't fall for the same tricks again." Toshiro scowled at his opponent. Hyorinmaru had at least calmed down and stood beside him in the tunnel, icy spikes bristled in anger but otherwise listening to him again.

"Does knowing the trick make it any less dangerous?" Aizen chuckled menacingly, not upset in the slightest. "Does knowing it's a dream make it any less terrifying?"

The Nobody's scowl deepened at the other's words, doing his best to hold back the memory of the horrible nightmare he'd gone through just a few nights ago.

"I've learned from my mistakes; you're not getting anything out of me."

"Oh, but I already have plenty." Aizen lifted a hand and casted a silent Kido spell, Toshiro ducking under the blue lightning that took a good chunk of the wall behind him. When he looked back up, Aizen had been replaced with Xemnas, the bright red sabers in both hands. "In your current state you are nothing but a husk full of memories, and those memories fuel my existence. The darker, the better, and you have plenty of darkness."

"Get out of my head." Toshiro growled. He put a hand to the wall, using ice magic to rush a trail of ice across the stone before shooting out in a flower of frozen spikes when it came level with the parasite. The magic wore him out faster, but trapped in this maze he didn't have easy access to water to use in his normal way. Xemnas chose to dodge the attack by leaping forward. Hyorinmaru mirrored the action, backing off Xemnas with his claws and fangs.

" **I shall tear you apart, you pathetic shapeshifter.** " The dragon threatened, icy mist seeping from his jaws as he prepared to freeze his prey.

Eyes narrowing, Xemnas backed away and created a barrier as the ice breath came at him. The ice instead created a thick block between them and their opponent, giving them a moment to breath.

"Hyorinmaru, this way." Toshiro called out, seeing a passage on their end they could go through.

' ** _But we have not dealt with him._** ' The dragon argued, reluctant to run away.

"He's just a ghost in our heads, there's no telling if we even can kill it. We need to find that woman who created it." Toshiro pointed out. The dragon thought for a moment before nodding his head, agreeing. He followed his master as they headed down the new tunnel. Toshiro had a feeling he would be able to find the mysterious woman who trapped them in here, a sort of hunch that she was working for someone, perhaps even Maleficent since the dark fairy knew about her, and would be after him. If that was the case, he couldn't let himself get caught up in the past again, he had to turn the trap back against the trapper.

He skidded to a halt as a figure in black darted out from a different tunnel ahead of him. Xemnas sneered at the frustrated look on Toshiro's face.

"You cannot escape your memories." He stated. "These tunnels will never turn in your favor; I will always be nearby."

"So I guess I do need to deal with you first." Toshiro snapped, summoning his zanpaktou and Keyblade together, just as Xemnas brought back the burning sabers.

The parasite was about to speak when a bolt of lightning startled him, hitting him into the tunnel wall. Coming from where the electricity had been shot, an orange-haired figure appeared.

"Nami?" Toshiro was surprised to see the navigator again, having expected to be kept separated.

"Oh, thank goodness, it worked!" Nami exclaimed, grinning. "These tunnels are a nightmare moving around, but I spotted him darting through one and figured I'd find someone else if I followed."

"It seems the tunnels did turn in my favor." Toshiro said aloud, looking a bit smug as he glanced at Xemnas standing back up with a scowl. "Did you defeat your ghost then?"

"Ghost?" Nami cast a confused glance, before tensing up as they heard an angry shout. No, she had not dealt with Arlong, but thanks to the thundercloud hanging around her shoulders she had slipped by and been able to run away fairly well. "Uh-oh."

Quickly she hurried to stand next to Toshiro as the shark fishman chased after her, looking a little worse for wear, no doubt from being electrocuted multiple times.

"What are you…?" Toshiro allowed himself to be distracted momentarily as he observed the cloud with a face. The puppets weren't being aggressive just yet, Hyorinmaru blocking their way and causing some unseen conflict between the two parasites at how to get past the dragon to their intended targets.

"I'm Zeus." The Thundercloud replied cheerfully.

"We told you about Big Mom, right?" Nami added a question. Toshiro nodded – during their story exchanges, they told him of their recent mission against one of the top pirates in the sea, Big Mom, a terrifying giant human with the power to give and take souls and a voracious appetite that made her extremely dangerous. Her soul ability had made Toshiro quite nervous, making note to keep away from her for sure, worried what she might be able to do to someone who was just a soul. His current condition might change the circumstance, but he dared not risk it. "Well, Zeus here is part of Big Mom herself! But now instead of being her best soldier, he's mine." The navigator continued with a wink.

"You're… a piece of her soul?" Toshiro wasn't sure how he felt about that. Splitting souls was… he shuddered, unwillingly remembering what had happened in Atlantica. Someone would split themselves willingly? And to betray the person you were a part of… could they trust Zeus?

"Yeah, but Nami can make super tasty thunderclouds." Zeus replied, licking his lips.

"With Zeus and my weather eggs in here, I can make whatever weather I want, anywhere I want." Nami stated proudly, spinning her climatact. "I didn't want to let him out on the island with Dextra the way she was, so sorry for the late introduction."

Toshiro went into thought for a moment, coming up with an idea.

Xemnas finally launched an attack, creating multiple sabers within the tunnel and then launching them forward like lasers. Hyorinmaru let loose another breath of ice in response, and instead of blocking the way again the two powers clashed and negated the other, leaving only steam to lower visibility.

"Hyorinmaru, back up for a moment." Toshiro ordered his dragon. Though at first unwilling, growling a bit, Hyorinmaru caught onto what the two behind him were attempting when small bubbles filled with cold air passed by him. He shrunk himself a bit and did as he was asked, backing up behind his master.

The dragon out of the way, Xemnas seemed to stop any further attempts to attack and Arlong sneered, stepping forward instead as he focused on Nami.

"Bad idea." The woman teased, letting the cold bubbles pop. The heat of the steam mixed with the cold, causing not only heavy condensation on the cave walls but quite a bit of static as the two temperatures clashed.

"Gotcha!" Zeus grinned menacingly, shooting a bolt into the mess between them. It caught onto the static, multiplying its pathway. The two puppets had both been covered in some of the condensation, and the water made it worse for them when the lightning hit. The smell of burnt hair was definitely unpleasant.

"They practically set it up for you." Toshiro spoke up, impressed. He had asked if Nami could create some weather for him to use, but she had done one better with the circumstances presented to her and he doubted he needed to follow up after a thunder strike like that. They watched the collection of parts fall to the ground, no longer bearing an image of their memory.

"Alright then, let's get out of these horrible caves." Though proud of her achievement, Nami didn't feel like sticking around for another of the grotesque monsters to show up looking like some other monster she knew.

"I doubt our enemy will let us out, we need to find her first and defeat her before we can escape." Toshiro countered, understanding they were probably cut off from any possible exit with how the tunnels kept moving around. Seeing as he wasn't currently needed, Hyorinmaru returned to his master's shadow.

Nami grumbled but figured he was probably right. At least she knew now that their opponents weren't too hard to beat. If Toshiro could act as the cold air, she had multiple possible attacks to use, especially with Zeus, the thundercloud returning to the climatact.

They were about to head off when Toshiro tensed up, sensing something. A chill ran up his spine as he turned back to Nami, his head knowing he was too late but his instincts bidding him to still try. The visibility in their part of the tunnel was still low from the mist left behind from Nami's attack.

Nami herself looked confused at Toshiro's reaction, before her expression turned to shock as pain shot up her spine.

"When will you learn, little Shiro…" Aizen's cruel voice sneered as he held his blade through the woman's stomach. "Your nightmare will never end."

Toshiro could only watch as the new parasite pulled the blade away, letting Nami fall to the ground. The flash of orange, the familiar feeling of helplessness, it was like he was back on that battlefield again, always one step behind.

And that damned smile still on his face.

A similar grin appeared on the woman still hidden within her maze.

"You didn't think it would be so easy, did you?" She giggled. She had direct control of this new puppet, and while it blinded her to the others, it meant this one had more freedom in its actions, allowing it to attack a target not its own. "Come into my web, little moon ~."


	31. They Deal With Chaos Herself

Toshiro couldn't move. Why bother? The outcome was always the same. Even when it was a fake, Aizen was a menace, one that knew exactly how to get what he wanted from the small Captain. Under normal circumstances, he would have snapped and charged at the man with full intent to slaughter. But this time… he had his back to a wall with nowhere to go. If he destroyed this one, a new one would come back. If he didn't, the current one would keep coming after him. And Nami was still here. He didn't have any room to use his power without hurting her. He couldn't let himself be tricked to do that again.

"How many more will you allow to die?" Aizen stepped around the navigator on the ground, her breath heavy as she held her stomach in pain. "Haven't you learned yet? That no matter where you go, you bring only death?"

"That's not true." Toshiro snapped, though his voice shook a bit. This was a thought he battled with constantly, and why he preferred to keep his distance.

"If not by your hand, it's by your failure to protect them." The puppet continued approaching Toshiro. "Those you care about are cursed to die around you. When have you ever been anything other than a monster?"

"I'm not!" Toshiro lifted a hand at the menacing figure. " _Hado Number-_ "

His Kido was cut off as Aizen quickly closed the distance, his sword aimed for the Nobody's head. Toshiro managed to dodge, getting past the man to stand between him and Nami. Hyorinmaru came out of his shadow, but not to fight, carefully picking up Nami and placing her on his back before heading off down the tunnels. The dragon had been asked to take her to the others, if possible, at the least getting her away from Aizen.

"You should have kept the dragon here." Aizen removed his blade from the wall and turned back to face Toshiro. "Though I suppose Hyorinmaru is no longer the guiding light he used to be."

"He's still my greatest ally, Heartless or not." Toshiro scowled, backing away down the tunnel. "Now get out of my head."

"Trying to hide something? Is that the real reason you wanted her to leave?" Aizen's smile began to twist into a sneer. "I'm sure she'd be quite horrified to hear what kind of things you've done."

"None of them were intentional."

"You wish you could though, just like in that nightmare…"

"I would never do any of that!" Toshiro tensed at the mention of that horrible dream.

"But you want to!" Darting forward, Aizen clashed blades with the smaller figure, managing to push the startled Nobody up against the wall, his zanpaktou barely able to keep his opponent's sword from his throat. "Aren't you sick and tired of everyone treating you like a freak? Aren't you done with the whispers behind your back and the dirty looks? Everyone working against you when you were already trying harder than anyone to prove yourself, only to continue walking a tight rope as a Captain."

"Shut up!" Toshiro tried to push back, but he couldn't get the leverage he needed to get that blade away from his head.

"Face it, Hitsugaya, that nightmare was showing you what you really wanted to do, what you SHOULD have done. Do you honestly think they'll let you live after your mistakes? You pledged your being to them knowing very well they would dispose of you first chance they got, and it's chained you back from what you could have been."

"No…"

"Free yourself, Hitsugaya, become what you were meant to be. Become the monster, kill anyone who stands in your way." Aizen's expression was one of pure malice, and while it was an expression the man himself would never have made, it scared Toshiro. "Just like those academy brats in your nightmare."

For a brief moment, Toshiro felt like he was back in the dream. Around him were the bodies of his classmates, the floor dyed red, their teasing and hatred finally silenced, no longer able to hold him back. They couldn't keep making excuses to put him last if there was no one else to be first. He could see himself laughing, more relieved than he should have been, could see the cold, dead stare in his own eyes at finally having had enough. The teachers, horrified, too afraid to touch him as he walked away, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

It was nothing like his academy days had actually been, just a nightmare made of decades of paranoia and having the kids around his home treat him that way, but it felt so horrifyingly real, like it easily could have happened to him. And it was the thought of it being even a remote possibility that terrified him, that he had thought even for a moment it might have been better that way. A vision of himself he worked his hardest to stay away from.

"Let that darkness out…" Aizen's voice was echoed by that of a female, her tone an evil hiss as she poured her power into her task, a sneer on its face as the necklace turned black once again.

"No!" Snapping away from the terrible visions, Toshiro found the strength to push back, black ice covering the cave walls just in time for the puppet to be pushed against the spikes. Not wanting to stick around and see if that killed the creature or not, Toshiro turned and took off down the tunnels, breathing heavily. He wanted to be anywhere but here right now, he had to find a space to calm down.

A gentle whisper bid him pause, and surprised by the voice, he listened. He still shook a bit, gripping tight to his blade, but he looked around for where the whispering came from. He was reminded why he had come in these caves to begin with, searching for something that called to him, and now the feeling had resurfaced, much stronger this time. He must be close then if he could hear it now. He took a few more steps down the tunnel, keeping a careful eye out as he calmed his breathing.

A flicker caught his attention, a break in the tunnel that allowed tiny beams of azure light through. It was clearly meant to be hidden, the walls trying to block his way, but it was being forced away by something else. The echoes of a song caught his attention as well, drawing in his curiosity by its soothing melody. Cautiously he approached, not sure yet if this odd power calling to him was actually friendly. He carefully reached a hand out.

As his fingers brushed against the stone, the false wall faded away, and he had to bring his arm up to block the sudden light, the melody becoming louder. It took a moment, but once he adjusted to the brightness, he looked inside. This new tunnel had no lanterns like the rest, and instead was lit by walls covered in crystal shards, the light source emanating from a single, large crystal inside the room. The light inside called to him… so he stepped inside.

Elsewhere in the caves, Hyorinmaru ghosted through, seeking out any of the other pirates. His sense of smell was useless as the tunnels shifted, but following the direction of their hearts aided him, and eventually he came across one of the groups.

"Whoa, Hyorinmaru!" Usopp exclaimed, shrieking a bit. The giant black dragon had turned a corner on them and nearly gave the pair a heart attack. "What are you doing here? You didn't get separated from Toshiro, did you?"

Hyorinmaru shook his head, turning to look back at the girl he had been carrying. He was pleasantly surprised to see her sitting up, the blood and wound previously leaving her immobile gone. She seemed surprised as well, rubbing her stomach where the sword had gone through.

"Nami?" Jimbei called out, confused. Why was their navigator riding the dragon? "Are you alright?"

"Well… I thought I had been stabbed, but…" She hopped off Hyorinmaru's back and approached her crewmates.

"Stabbed!?" Usopp gaped.

"Right here, but it's gone now." Nami pointed to her stomach. "Toshiro had some weird guy as his opponent, and he snuck up on us and ran me through. Next thing I knew Hyorinmaru was flying off down the tunnels with me and it stopped hurting, and now it's just gone."

The two males shared a look, curious.

"It does seem that these opponents we face are nothing more than golems made to look like our enemy, so perhaps, because those enemies are illusions, any wounds they inflict are as well." Jimbei theorized.

"That would make sense." Law's voice made them turn, spotting him and Luffy joining them from another tunnel. Law still looked pale, but the arm where he had taken an attack by Doflamingo was now clear of any wounds. "The hit I took vanished as well once we got some distance from ours."

"Argh, where's the hag in charge hiding!?" Luffy was still ready to punch some people's lights out, one woman in particular he needed to teach a lesson to.

With a growl, Hyorinmaru pushed past them and started heading off down the tunnel.

"If anyone can find her in this changing maze it's him." Nami said to the group. "He got me here to you guys after all."

"At the least we should start sticking together." Jimbei agreed.

And so they followed after the dragon, hopefully to end the Chaos user's madness once and for all.

Further in, Robin and Sanji were still away from the group, looking frantically for Thursday. Sanji couldn't stand that he had lost her, focused as he was on getting rid of his irritating brother. Surprisingly, both Niji and Lucci had stopped reacting as well, and fell apart quickly once the pair turned their focus to getting back the Heart Pirate child. The fact that their opponents had been mere puppets only served to make Sanji angrier, and Robin's silent rage was ready to deal a painful blow to their enemy if they came across her.

"Thursday!" The cook called out desperately. "Thursday, answer!"

His voice managed to carry through the stone to where the girl they looked for was still in hiding. She turned at the sound of the voice.

"They're looking for me." She turned back to the Human-Mink who had so far kept her safe. Up until then, Tebliel had told a tale of Maleficent completely opposite from what Toshiro had been telling them, and since she had helped this winged woman, who was now helping her, Thursday began to wonder if maybe Toshiro had a bias against the dark fairy he wasn't telling them. She had not been present either for Toshiro's nightmare – only heard of it – or her appearance outside the caves.

"They must have dealt with their parasites then, though that doesn't really mean it's safe." Tebliel answered. "We'll be better in a group, though… do you think your friends will mind?"

Thursday thought for a moment. If she mentioned Maleficent, she would most certainly NOT be welcomed… but she had been helpful so far, and knew how to get to Lacia, so if they left out the witch, they might be able to stop all this before Toshiro or anyone else got hurt. So, she nodded, and hoped it turned out alright.

"Alright, let's see if I can trick the tunnels again." Standing carefully on her bird legs, Tebliel lifted a hand up to the wall. A soft glow enveloped her hands and the stone shifted away, seeming to obey her just fine even if the creator of the maze was someone else. "My fruit power thankfully can help me kind of override Lacia's influence for a bit… it's how I kept us in a room the whole time."

"Neat." Thursday complimented, standing and taking a moment to stretch before following the angel-like figure out of their hiding place.

"Thursday!" Sanji's voice echoed over them again, this time much louder.

"Over here!" She called back.

In the next few moments they could hear a fierce stampede across the tunnel floors as Sanji ran as fast as he could towards the shout. He rounded the corner in a cloud of dust before stopping short just in front of the two.

"Thank god, we were worried sick." Sanji was only lightly panting after the long sprint through the tunnels, showing off how much stamina he had for running. "Are you okay? You're not hurt? How did you disappear like that?"

"I'm fine, Tebliel here got me out before those things could hurt me." Thursday answered, waving a hand to the Human-Mink as an introduction.

"Oh sweet angel, thank you!" Sanji got on his knees in front of the winged woman, who looked rather surprised, taking a cautious step back. At that point Robin had caught up, giving Thursday a hug in relief that she was unhurt.

"Tebliel knows a lot about Lacia, the woman who's got us trapped here. She's been trapped here observing her, she can help us put a stop to her." Thursday explained to the two Straw Hats.

"We'll have to be quick though, she's probably starting to close the snare on her target." The Human-Mink warned.

"Let's see if we can meet up with everyone else and we'll get her." Robin said, a determined expression on her face. Now that their charge was safe back with them and the puppets didn't seem to be bothering them anymore, her main priority was returning to her crew.

They made their way through the tunnels, Tebliel and Thursday explaining what to do once they came across the Chaos user.

The reason the puppets had stopped short was because Lacia had already been found. Controlling the Aizen one had grabbed her full attention, and as a result, the tunnels were becoming less twisted. Her room was no longer cut off from everyone else. Hyorinmaru held back an angry Luffy while they waited to figure out what to do about her. They had come across her around the time she was starting to overpower Toshiro, her back to them and hood down to let her long purple hair free.

"Free yourself, Hitsugaya, become what you were meant to be. Become the monster, kill anyone who stands in your way." Lacia hissed, and they could see what she could from a vision she created on the wall, Toshiro backed up against a wall and panicked. "Just like those academy brats in your nightmare."

They saw Toshiro's horrified response, how he froze up, flashes of something they couldn't quite make out as Lacia forced out the nightmares, her hands glowing red.

"Let that darkness out." She beckoned.

"I can't keep watching this." Nami scowled, letting Zeus back out from her weapon. "Hit her hard!"

Lacia tensed, the link she had to her puppet cut off just as Toshiro snapped, the vision vanishing. She turned back to them, shocked to see them there. Her eyes were heterochromatic, one red and one blue, and they went wide as the thundercloud loomed menacingly over her.

Now that her focus was back on them, however, she growled and jumped from her tree, her image shimmering before changing spots just as Zeus's lightning destroyed her former perch.

"You weren't supposed to make it here." She hissed, hand glowing red again as more golems rose from the ground. She didn't bother putting ghosts over them, just used the mountain around her for bodyguards. "Once I had the kid I was going to have him kill all of you."

With a vicious roar, Hyorinmaru launched forward, smashing through the golems with ease and forcing her to change her position again.

"And why aren't you back with your master!?" She shrieked, knowing this was bad. She had almost captured the Reaper, and now everything was going wrong. To make it worse, she couldn't even sense Toshiro in her maze anymore. Had he escaped? She knew the three Heart Pirates had, but they weren't important so she had let them go, but for Toshiro to escape so quickly… impossible!

An angry shout brought her attention back to the problem at hand, and she didn't have time to warp herself away before a fiery fist of rubber smashed into her stomach and sent her crashing against the wall. She'd never been hit before, as no one had been able to get close enough to her, so her pain tolerance was low and she was easily dazed. She lifted a hand, ready to crush the tunnels around them, a deadly fire in her eyes.

But her spell was promptly cut short by a well-timed bolt from Zeus, the thundercloud looming above her again. It didn't kill her, but definitely put her out cold, her purple hair a mess and skin charred.

"Good boy, Zeus!" Nami praised, letting out a few small thunderclouds from her climatact that Zeus happily munched on.

The Devil Fruit user out cold, the tunnels around them began to shake, dust falling from above as the mountain began to return to normal. They looked around nervously and did their best to keep their balance while Hyorinmaru ignored it and took the heart of the one who'd caused his master grief before anyone could stop him. Sanji and his group ran into the room just as all this began to happen.

"Whoa, you already defeated her?" Tebliel gasped, though she gulped nervously as she saw the giant black dragon snap up the glowing heart.

"Yeah, but I think we better get out of here!" Usopp said in a panicky tone, wondering if the mountain was going to close up around them.

"No, wait, don't go back in the tunnels!" The Human-Mink called out as they turned to try and reach an exit. "This room existed naturally in the mountain, it used to be the only place to go, with only one tunnel, if we stay here we'll be fine!"

"How do you know that?" Law narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious.

"It's okay, Papa, she's helped me out." Thursday answered. They paused as the mountain made a more dramatic shape, the tunnel Sanji's group had just come from vanishing as it all became solid rock. The tree Lacia had created as a perch crumbled away, the room shrinking a bit to its normal size.

"Wait, where has Toshiro gone?" Robin spoke up, noticing they were still missing one. Law was concerned for his crew as well, not knowing they were already back on the Sunny watching the mountain shake with concerned looks.

"He was dealing with some Aizen guy; I don't know if he got out or not." Nami explained, worried as well.

"Aizen?" Law recognized the name, knowing the reaction it usually sparked. If that was the person Lacia was using against him, he could very well be lost to darkness as they spoke, and if not he was still out of their reach.

Hyorinmaru rushed past them, having finished with Lacia, and vanished into the shadows of the mountain, likely to seek out his master. Tebliel let out a slight squeak as the Heartless passed her by.

The mountains shook again, causing a few gasps, and they gathered into the center to wait it out as the Human-Mink suggested. They hoped Hyorinmaru could bring Toshiro back in time before the maze vanished completely with him inside it.

* * *

 **The nightmare I gave Toshiro is actually based off of one I myself had a while back and actually made me scared of him while in the dream, and it didn't help I was him for most of the dream.**


	32. A Vision of My Past

Toshiro stepped slowly through the short tunnel and into the large crystal room, his eyes fixated on the glowing center piece. It was taller than he was, reaching up towards the ceiling like a magic imbued stalagmite. The whispers had calmed on his approach, but he could still hear the music. It was a lullaby of some sort, and it sounded like it came from a music box. It calmed him, somehow, easing the terrors in his thoughts brought on by the false Aizen, a dangerous sense of peace coming over him with each note. He knew he shouldn't let his guard down… but the music seemed to flow right through him, and for a brief moment he felt whole again.

When he could finally move his eyes away from the crystal he spotted the music box itself, resting on a stone pedestal before the gem, realizing he had stopped just in front of it. It was pale violet in color, open to show a small swirling figure, a petite fairy with crystal butterfly wings of icy blue and a tail to match in medium and color, small white horns coming from her violet hair, poised like a ballerina as music boxes often had them. Whoever crafted the fairy sure put their heart into it, as it seemed she could fly away any moment, and he questioned the odd additions of tail and horns to a creature who's only features commonly chosen were tiny stature and wings.

He continued to listen curiously as the music began to slow, the fairy's dance slowing as he reached out for it. Just before he touched it, he pulled his hand away, not wanting to ruin something so elegant and pure with his touch. Instead, he knelt before the box, listening until its final note echoed in the cavern, relishing the feeling of safety and comfort in the lullaby, even allowing a small smile to come to his face, features softening.

When the silence came thick into the room, Toshiro allowed a frown to appear on his face. He wished the beautiful music would continue, would let him remain embraced in its magic. It had been many days since he'd last felt so peaceful, perhaps weeks even with the many hardships he faced even before the darkness took him.

But, with a shake of his head, he remembered that he needed to get back to the others. Nami had been hurt last he saw her, so now that Aizen didn't seem to be following him he could perhaps lend his aid with Kido. He stood, but couldn't help glancing at the music box once more. It still lay open, the fairy frozen in her pose, no longer spinning with no music to dance to. He could not shake the feeling that this item was familiar to him, precious even, and he was inclined to grab it and take it with him.

The room gave a shake as Lacia was defeated elsewhere, making the Nobody tense.

 _There is no need to fear, this room will not be touched_.

Toshiro turned back towards the crystal in surprise, recognizing the soundless thoughts that came through his head. It was the same 'voice' that had guided him before, both when he first got his Keyblade and when he needed it back to fight the Stigma Heartless, Bugshroom.

"What… is this place?" Knowing the spirit was only there to guide him, Toshiro sought out answers.

 _A lost relic of the first world, a piece of a sacred place only two young souls knew about._

"First world?" The idea of a first world confused Toshiro, as he was under the impression there were a great many worlds.

 _All worlds were once a part of one, with Kingdom Hearts at its center, their shining light to protect them from evil. The Keyblade War caused this world to fall and disappear. It was the hearts of children who brought back the memories of those worlds, only now forever separated._

"The worlds… used to be one… what is all this about, this Keyblade War? No one ever said anything about there being only one world." The more answers he got, the more questions he had, his mind filled with confusion.

 _It is a history lost to time and memory, a world where the very first Heavenly Guardian gained their power, and created Kingdom Hearts to protect that world and be a safe haven for those departed._

"I… I don't understand... so then, Soul Reapers existed even before it was just the Soul Society?" Toshiro was trying to wrap his head around the idea, having believed something different from his first conversation with this spirit of his predecessor.

 _The land of souls was a feared place, and it was there the Heavenly Guardian felt he must do something to stop the despair growing within his home. He sought out the great spirit dragon, and after making a pact with him, formed Kingdom Hearts to protect lost souls from the darkness._

"Hyorinmaru…" Toshiro realized which dragon the voice meant.

 _Play the lullaby once more, and open your mind to its song. Within it, you will see your past._

Toshiro turned his gaze warily to the innocent music box. If this room was somehow connected to his past… was this item also important? And how so? He carefully picked it up and held it, but hesitated to rewind its gear, not comfortable putting himself in a vulnerable position with possible enemies right outside.

 _None shall disturb this place._ The spirit assured him, the soft glow of the crystal passing on a confidence he had been avoiding just before.

With a resigned sigh, Toshiro decided to trust his guide, sitting on the floor as he usually would when meditating before gingerly winding up the music box. The calming tune began to play, the fairy spinning once more on her stage with tiny crystal wings reflecting the light around her. Teal eyes slowly closed and Toshiro took a deep, slow breath, focusing on the melody as he slipped into silent thoughts. Within his mind he could see the music box again, but now the fairy did not remain frozen on her stage. Her little wings fluttered with a chime like tiny bells as she rose up into the air. There was the sound of a little girl giggling happily.

' _Who…?_ ' Toshiro felt like he recognized the voice, but he had never heard it before in his life.

Two figures stood by the same crystal he had just been near, still bearing the same soft light, but their figures were still blurry and unrecognizable in Toshiro's mind. One was the laughing girl, ecstatic about the musical fairy, praising the other figure for his magic. When the other spoke, he had his own voice, but somehow Toshiro could only hear his own over top as he entertained the girl. They seemed to be close. But there was also a sadness within the older figure. Toshiro got the feeling the girl was not allowed to leave the cavern, as if her very life was tied to it, the only reason she could still live. She had some kind of fatal illness.

The older figure left the chamber, seeking out an answer to the darkness plaguing his home, poisoning innocent souls like his sister. Sister? So that's why the girl was important to him. A little sister with long white hair and eyes that could never see with only her brother to trust. His sadness grew as her time came short, and it was only within this cavern, listening to the music box, that he could feel she was still there.

His journey led him out to an icy landscape that stood in his way, home to a great spirit that took care of all other spirits. The dragon was convinced to use his powers for a better cause than purging the lands of evil, hoping to instead stop its plague before lives were lost, agreeing to partner up with this bold warrior. Following the dragon's lead, other spirits aided the warrior tribes in protecting the lives of the innocent. Using the great dragon's powers, the first warrior created a world within their world for these hearts and souls to go.

They gave him a title. The Heavenly Guardian.

A mysterious figure in black approached the guardian, curious about the powers of spirits and hoping to give mortals a chance to defend themselves as well. The guardian agreed, and this new friend created a unique weapon for warriors of the heart to protect their own, their power spreading and protecting the light. The Keyblade, they called it. The Heavenly Guardian got to wield one of the first ones, increasing his power. He kept among his own as his companion set about on his own journey, the first Keyblade Master, a Master of Masters, working towards a goal the guardian could not quite see. They went their separate ways with a promise to see where this new world would take them.

So when the darkness came and the Keyblade War began, the Heavenly Guardian created for himself a curse, a curse to be reborn and fight against the darkness whenever it should become too strong, before sealing off his homeland. The homeland that would become the Soul Society.

And with the last of his power used to protect the lines of the Soul Reapers, the first Heavenly Guardian met his end.

Toshiro gasped as he was brought out of the vision. Most of it was still hazy, details missing or unclear, but he understood the importance of what he had seen. An expansive world unlike anything he had ever seen, an entire city full of young Keyblade Wielders lost to greed for the light, leaving the sparse few he knew today as their legacy. And this Master of Masters… hazy as the image was, he dressed just like Organization XIII had, the same robes he had discarded first chance he got on this world. Why would his predecessor ally with him? That part was still unclear…

"So… my existence here and now… is just to see what happens?" Toshiro questioned to the air, knowing the spirit was still around to answer him. "I'm just… continuing what he started."

 _It is not so simple, but your fate is indeed to protect the light of Kingdom Hearts, the sanctuary of innocence and lost souls. If darkness overtakes such a sanctuary, there will be no end to its plague._

"I thought you said darkness wasn't inherently evil." Toshiro reminded the spirit, though he glanced at the now silent music box, the fairy still once more. Imbued with some kind of magic, it withstood a great many centuries placed here in this cave.

The 'voice' did not answer at first.

 _Like any other power, darkness can be controlled. It is the uncontrollable that is dangerous. The light is dangerous as well… as you've seen, it breeds greed in mortal hearts, inviting the darkness… the stronger the light, the blacker the darkness._

"You've said that before…"

 _It is not so easy to determine what is right or wrong, that you must learn for yourself._

Toshiro let out a hum of thought at that, picking up the music box once more. Up close, he could truly see the care put into the fairy's making, bearing its own glow.

 _It is the last remaining piece of her memory, the girl your past had cared for. It still plays within these walls for her, calming lost spirits. The first Heavenly Guardian had a talent for bringing peace to the restless, and his magic continues in the lullaby. It will help you keep nightmares at bay._

"You want me to take it?" The Nobody looked surprised.

 _It is her wish. She needs it no longer, and does not wish to see you despair._

"I'm… I'm not her brother though." He felt guilty taking something so important from this secret place, and something this exquisitely crafted would be a prize for any pirate. He could not deny, however, that the possibility of such peace at the turn of a key was an enticing offer. It would be nice to finally get decent rest again.

 _It is her wish._

Grip tightening a small bit on the box, he reached a hand up and carefully closed it, hiding the fairy away.

The light in the cave went out.

"What happened?" Toshiro asked, surprised by the sudden darkness, the crystals now dull and the room silent from its previous whispers. When he got no answer, he realized whatever magic had kept this place alive and protected had vanished with the closing of the music box, so he opened it back up for a moment to see if it would bring it back. The crystals remained lifeless, but the fairy retained her own icy blue glow, the last remaining vessel of this place's memory and magic. "I see…"

A faint shout caught his attention, turning his gaze back to the entrance of the small cavern and listening closely once more. As he did so, a shadowed head peeked around the corner.

"I'm alright, Hyorinmaru." The Nobody said to the dragon's curious yellow gaze. "I found something interesting though."

' ** _And memories as well, it seems._** ' The dragon responded, recognizing the expression on his master's face to mean he had been through something quite emotional. He maneuvered his body into the cave, taking a curious sniff at the music box, intrigued by the magic around it. ' ** _Can I hear it? I never got the chance to with my first master._** '

"Later perhaps, I should try to find the others." Toshiro responded. He wanted to ask how much Hyorinmaru remembered of his first master, but this was not the place for it, surrounded as they were by an unpredictable mountain and enemies trying to ensnare him.

' ** _The woman of the mountain has been defeated by the pirates, they search for you now that the mountain is back to normal._** ' After giving this report, the Heartless stepped swiftly into his master's shadow and vanished from sight, only his yellow eyes still shining in the darkness so one could know he was listening.

"Better not keep them waiting then." Toshiro sighed. He glanced once more at the music box, wondering if he should mention it to the others. They had proven helpful allies and loyal friends, but he was not part of either crew, and they were still pirates, so he could not yet trust them to treat him the same as they did each other, and the poor fairy would be a big prize. He decided to hide it for now, tucking it away in his jacket after closing the lid and making his way out of the cavern.

The mountain had thankfully stopped shaking, settled into its normal state of existence with a single tunnel leading from the cave the Sunny rested in to the inner chamber everyone remained huddled in. The cavern from which Toshiro emerged was concealed through a tiny pathway, hidden behind what seemed to be a random assortment of boulders to keep it out of view, but were placed just right one could still pass them by and leave. This he did, stepping into the larger room where everyone else was, a few calling his name still.

"Hey, there you are!" Luffy spotted him first, his usual grin back on his face now that everyone was accounted for. Once the mountain had stopped changing, a few had left and determined the remaining Heart Pirates were safe back on the Sunny, reporting back to those waiting inside. "Good thing you didn't get crushed!"

"Luffy, that's too blunt!" Nami gave him a smack on the head that he mostly ignored, simply looking confused about what he did wrong.

"You healed?" Toshiro's confused comment brought their attention back to him, stopping any potential argument. Nami realized he was looking at her stomach and remembered that, last they had seen each other, she had been given a serious injury.

"Not so much healed as I got far enough away from the puppet that whatever illusion they make went away." She explained to him with a thumb up. "Who knows what would have happened if I had stuck around though, so thanks for getting me out of there."

"…all just an illusion." A flicker of anger was seen within his teal eyes as he glanced at Lacia's still form over by the wall. "I'm starting to get tired of those."

Law took on a thoughtful expression, piecing things together from what he'd heard from Nami and Toshiro's behavior around the name 'Aizen'. Aizen had done something pretty terrible to the Reaper, something Toshiro agonized over constantly, and if it was related to his current comment about illusions, it was no doubt something Aizen had forced Toshiro to do without the latter realizing it. Never a good situation to be in for sure. And there were the comments the puppet had made, when they had spotted Lacia speaking through it…

"Oh hey, there's a tunnel here! Cool!" Luffy shouted from behind them, stopping Law's thoughts short. While they had been talking, the Straw Hat had gone off to explore and find out where Toshiro had appeared from, discovering the small tunnel hidden away behind the boulders.

"There's a cavern there full of crystals… it had what I was looking for."

"And what would that be?" Law questioned, wanting to know the reason they had all been forced to face puppets of their past.

"…Memories of a past life." Toshiro answered somewhat vaguely. When everyone only gave him confused stares, he sighed. "The cavern had magic imbued into it, though it has now lost all of it giving me memories of my past life."

"So you know a little more about this Heavenly Guardian stuff you were talking about?" Nami looked interested, though while her question was on topic her gaze was towards the tunnel, no doubt wondering if the crystals might still be worth anything.

"I know how it started… not really how to use it. It's still a blur, it might take me some time to make sense of things."

"I wanna see the magic!" Luffy as usual wasn't really paying attention, pushing his way into the tunnel.

"Luffy, he just said there wasn't any anymore!" Nami shouted after him, before sighing and putting on a smile as she turned to Toshiro. "So, what kind of crystals were in there?"

"I'm no expert on gemstones but they weren't any kind of diamonds." The Nobody responded, a light smirk tugging at his mouth when the navigator pouted. "Their only value was its memory, and I already reclaimed that value."

"Personally I have no time for mining, thanks." Law grumbled, his face saying he wanted to be done with this mountain, already turned away and making his way out. The other Straw Hats aside from Nami and Luffy – still in the cavern most likely – followed after him with agreeing opinions.

A moment of silence stretched awkwardly between the pair still in the cavern before Toshiro cleared his throat and started walking back to the ship as well, Nami no doubt waiting for Luffy to come back so she could scold him, hands on her hips.

"You okay?" Her question made him stop, turning his gaze back to her.

"I'm fine." He assured her, and while he did feel fine, a nagging thought in the back of his mind wondered if that was correct. Nami seemed to doubt it as well, one brow lifting in suspicion. "I mean it."

"You were pretty frozen in front of that Aizen guy, excuse my pun." She argued.

"I'm sure all of us were dealing with our own nightmares." Toshiro's response was colder than his previous ones.

At that the navigator frowned and didn't stop him as he continued his leave from the tunnel. She had hoped to learn more about the mysterious child, having thought he might be more open after she and Robin had spoken with him, but she supposed his reaction made sense after everything that happened and decided to try again later.


	33. The Music Box

Toshiro finally emerged from the tunnel to the familiar sight of the Sunny just in time to see a figure flying off. He wondered at first if it was Dextra, but noticed the wings were oddly transparent and the hair of the retreating figure was bright green. Confused as to who the strange winged woman was, he approached the others.

"Hey, you're alright!" Shachi called out with a wave, catching the Nobody's attention. Toshiro also didn't miss the odd look Thursday gave him, but chose to focus on the stranger first.

"Who was that?" He asked the nearby pirates, motioning to the figure flying away out of the tunnel.

"Thursday says she was in the tunnels too, helped her get away from the crazy lady. Tebliel, was it?" Shachi glanced at Thursday, waiting for her nod before continuing. "She's apparently a Mink and Human hybrid, don't see those often."

Toshiro recalled being told that Bepo was of the Mink tribe, a race of humanoid animals, and was told Chopper was not one since he had in fact been a normal reindeer before eating his Devil Fruit. He wasn't quite sure what sparked such an evolutionary line with normal animals still around, but chose to leave that knowledge alone since he'd met many humanoid animals in his travels.

"What odd wings… I wonder why they are transparent."

"Transparent?" Shachi looked baffled. "They're just white." Penguin and Thursday nodded.

"What? They were black." Law, who had been nearby, cut into the conversation with a frown, causing his crew to give him curious looks.

"I saw white as well." Sanji put in his word.

"Oh, I thought they were a nice hero red color." Usopp mused aloud.

"Hang on, hang on, did everyone see different colored wings?" Toshiro stopped the comments short, wanting to understand what was going on.

"She mentioned something about an angel type Devil Fruit, or something." Thursday spoke up, trying to remember what the odd woman had told her when asked about her wings. "She did ask what color I thought they were…"

"Wings that look different depending on the person… perhaps it depends on people's perspective of an angel." The Nobody wondered. He couldn't know for sure, of course, without the woman herself to explain, but that was all he could think of for the moment.

"Why would they be transparent for you?" Penguin asked, curious. "Most of us saw normal white ones."

"Probably because I come from the afterlife and angels do not exist for us, but being a spirit I could still see some kind of form there."

"I see, like a ghost." Jimbei clarified.

"That actually makes decent sense." Toshiro agreed, liking the simpler explanation better. "Though, I'm surprised I didn't see my own wings reflected on her…" He noticed multiple stares drawn his way. "What?"

"You have wings?" Law asked, having never seen such a power before.

"Well, I can't use them now, but in Bankai I have wings of ice yes."

"….Bankai?" Several voices questioned and Toshiro was surprised he hadn't told them about Bankai. Then again, he wasn't sure he could use it in his current state, and so perhaps felt it was unnecessary to mention.

"Bankai is when a Soul Reaper unleashes the full power of the zanpaktou, and mine happens to fuse me with Hyorinmaru, giving me wings and such all made from ice I can easily reform if broken, as well as much greater control of the area around me. I don't think I can use it as I am now though, since Hyorinmaru is no longer part of me."

"Wow, turning part dragon sounds super cool!" Usopp said in awe.

"It definitely would have been neat to see." Penguin agreed, Shachi nodding next to him.

"That aside, why did this angel woman decide to leave?" A bit uncomfortable talking about a power he could no longer use, Toshiro put them back on the topic of the Human-Mink that had fled and got them onto this topic to begin with.

"She was scared of Hyorinmaru." Thursday said. "He ate Lacia's heart, and she didn't like how dark he was."

Toshiro gave a disapproving glare at his shadow where golden eyes opened in response to the glare.

' ** _She had caused you great distress, so I dealt with her._** ' The dragon defended, a rumble of indignation reverberating on the ship for the others to hear. ' ** _It is better for creatures such as her to be removed._** '

' _That doesn't make it okay, this is not who we are._ '

He was saved from any arguments from the dragon as Nami and Luffy finally came out of the cave, the navigator looking happy with herself. Apparently the crystals still had some worth after all.

Toshiro couldn't help but frown, however, at the large gems in her arms. He had no attachment to the cavern, but knowing the kind of place it was, that it once kept the spirit of a young girl alive when she was unfairly taken from her life, he felt some discomfort at seeing it stolen from. But he would not expect the pirates to listen to him and so remained silent. He was already freeloading; he couldn't tell them what to do. His hand went absentmindedly to the hidden music box in his coat, easing the tension in him somewhat. This was the real memory to be saved, the cavern no longer had to carry her soul, or rather, she was no longer trapped there. Perhaps it was better this way after all.

He still looked away as Nami returned to the ship and skipped past him to hide away her haul.

"Alright, time to get out of this freaky place." Franky was at the helm again, ready to move the ship back out of the cave and back into the open.

"Hopefully the others haven't been shot down." Robin commented offhandedly as they moved out, her form of wondering how the others outside were faring. A few of her crew mates gave her concerned glances, now somewhat worried for their friends.

The Sunny made her way back out of the cave at a slow pace without any wind to back her up, the light of the outside orange from sunset to show how long they had been chased by phantoms. Fortunately, when they came out of the tunnel, there were no problems in sight. The submarine still floated calmly by the shore, anchored and secure, its crew relaxing outside with the rest of the Straw Hat crew. Tebliel didn't seem to have joined them, Thursday wondering if she really did flee completely… perhaps she had gone back to Maleficent. The young woman wondered if she should tell her Captain about the Human-Mink's loyalties, but something kept her mouth silent on the topic.

Chopper in his large 'human' form waved to them from where he sat by Dextra, keeping an eye on her as he promised Law. Dextra definitely seemed better than she had that morning, if worried for them as they reunited on the shore once again.

"So was there anything in there?" She asked her Papa with some concern, picking up on some distress among the group.

"A woman with a Devil Fruit, but nothing too damaging." The surgeon responded, patting her on the head to reassure her. "No one got hurt, but it was difficult to find her. She's gone now."

"Hyorinmaru ate her." Thursday added, wanting to make sure that was said as well, though why she wasn't quite sure. She felt everyone needed to know what the Heartless would do if provoked, told herself it was just a good thing to do.

Toshiro didn't much appreciate the comment, however, sending a suspicious glare her way. He didn't like what his dragon had done either, even if he would have brought his sword down on Lacia given the opportunity, but he was pretty sure they all would have and was not okay with the young woman singling him out as the sole murderer.

"Probably nicer than what I would have done to her." Law said with a huff and a scowl, bringing the stares off of Toshiro. Intentional or not, the Nobody was grateful for the intervention, and decided he might try to speak to Thursday later. She had been oddly cold to him since the caves despite her gratitude that morning.

"She was a cruel mistress perhaps but you shouldn't think of defiling a woman like that!" Sanji argued back with his usual flair, ever on the side of women.

"The only defiling I would do is on an operating table, get your head out of that filthy headspace you're always in."

"That isn't okay either, lousy nurse."

"Nurse?" Law bristled at the demoted title; he may not have an official degree or anything but he damn well earned the right to be called a doctor. "Should I remind you who saved your Captain?"

"Hey, Sanji, I can help with dinner if you want, I bet everyone's super hungry." Thursday was quick to cut between the two men before they escalated further, successfully switching Sanji's mood to a better one and pushing him away to the Sunny's kitchen, leaving Law to stew in his anger as Luffy laughed off to the side, seeing no difference between this and Sanji's usual spats with Zoro.

"I guess you guys had a fun trip?" Dextra felt better about their success, turning to ask her question to Toshiro instead since her Papa was now in a foul mood.

"I wouldn't say fun…" The Nobody grumbled, pushing the phantom and the nightmares it brought back out of his mind.

"It was at least well paid~!" Nami added in with a great amount of cheer, a greedy twinkle in her eye as she admired one of the smaller crystals from the hidden cavern in her hands. A few others cheered, glad the trouble was at least somewhat worth it.

The night came by and things settled down, word going around about what happened in the caves, many glad they didn't have to face the Chaos user and sending empathetic glances to those that did. Usopp naturally played it off as no big deal, having dealt with his parasite 'easily'. Toshiro had his share of food – Sanji had to hunt him down first and drag him over to eat, watching intently to ensure the Nobody had his share as the cook wouldn't stand for anyone going hungry – and pardoned himself from the group to be somewhere more quiet. He chose to go inside the submarine, the enclosed walls more of what he was looking for at the moment, and his choice brought up the curiosity of a certain eagle user who lived in it.

Dextra followed him quietly through the halls, not wanting to get too close and bother him since he was clearly looking for some space to himself. He went inside the training hall, now currently empty, and she paused at the still open door, barely peeking around the edge as she watched him sit down in the center of the room, legs crossed. Hyorinmaru rose from his shadow in his smaller form, curling up on his master's shoulder once more and seeming eager for something. His back was to her, so when he reached into his jacket, she couldn't see what he took out.

"Tell me if you can hear it." His words startled her, causing her to give a slight squeak as she jumped back from the door and promptly fell on her rear. Toshiro turned to look at her curiously, hoping she hadn't hurt herself. "… did you forget I can sense the living around me?"

"Right… yeah…" She grumbled in response, rubbing her tail bone gingerly with a pout on her face. There was no point being stealthy around someone who was always aware of the souls around him, which she had realized too late. "So… what am I listening for?"

He motioned her into the room with a tilt of his head, Hyorinmaru calm and relaxed to show he had no problems with the idea. So, she stood and walked into the room, cautiously stopping next to the small figure. He motioned for her to sit across from him, and as she moved to do so she noticed what he had taken from his coat; the music box.

"Did you find that in the cave?" She asked as she sat with her knees hugged up to her chest.

"Yes, in the room where the crystals were." Toshiro answered in a softer voice, suggesting this was a sensitive topic he did not necessarily want overheard. "I… didn't really want to show everyone, but you followed me in here so I figured one wouldn't be so bad."

"Is it important? The thing about the guardian?" Curious as always, Dextra had many questions about the odd item.

"Not necessarily, not on its own at least." His vague reply made the girl tilt her head, and he thought quickly about how to explain something he himself was still working through. "It… well, it seems to be something left behind by my previous incarnation."

He opened the box with the care someone would take when handling glass, revealing the sparkling fairy inside. Now Dextra could understand his hesitation to show this to the others; there was no telling what price something this well-crafted could go for to the right buyer. The fairy alone had to be made from some kind of magic crystal to glow as it did, giving it a unique rarity that would put it at priceless even if it was made out of simple quartz.

"The memories I got when I found this… well, they're still blurry, and I need time to understand their purpose, but I do know this was made by my first incarnation to soothe the souls of those sick with darkness."

"Sick with it?" Dextra questioned, taking her eyes away from the glowing fairy to look at Toshiro, noting he looked confused and nervous, teal eyes still focused on the item and not giving her much attention. She kept a close eye on his reactions while he was distracted.

"The meaning behind that is still one of the unclear things to me, but… I think the first had a younger sister, one who was taken by some kind of sickness brought around by the plague of darkness that existed long ago. He made this for her, to ease her pain, so I think it can only be heard by those in similar situations. I know you mentioned a tough past when I mentioned mine, so… here, see if you can hear it." After his nervous and somewhat vague explanation behind the music box – Dextra still had so many questions – he reached down and wound up the small silver key and let the fairy dance.

The eagle child could hear the music perfectly fine, her eyes wide while the fairy spun slowly and her mind felt a comforting warmth wrap around it. Her sharp senses were still alert, and some feathers appeared over her body in apprehension at the foreign presence brought out by the lullaby… but there was no threat, no malice in its soft touch, just a feeling of peace. It felt like being wrapped in the arms of loving parents, a kiss on the forehead and whispers that everything was going to be fine. After a moment, the feathers disappeared and she closed her eyes with a small smile. How long had it been since she felt this safe?

"This music box is the last memento of the first Heavenly Guardian and his family." Toshiro's voice stayed low and relaxed so as not to break the flow of the lullaby, but could still be heard. "He never wanted to be such an important figure… he just wanted to stop souls from suffering. Hyorinmaru… he used to be the only spirit capable of stopping their suffering by destroying them, he and many other spirits worked tirelessly to rid the world of corrupted souls. The first proved his determination in his cause and won Hyorinmaru over, the first Soul Reapers to have spirit companions to fight back against the darkness."

"To save his sister, right?" Dextra's voice was almost at a whisper, opening her eyes again as her curiosity returned.

"She… passed… before he could make it to Hyorinmaru." The Nobody answered quietly, tone solemn and refusing to meet the other's gaze. "The cavern inside the mountain was a secret place for her to stay, filled with the first's magic, but it wasn't enough to save her. She's been haunting the place since… until I found it. Her last memories are now within this lullaby."

"But then, does that mean the Heavenly Guardian comes from here?" Blue and black eyes filled with wonder at the thought.

Toshiro shook his head, however, turning her excitement to confusion.

"That was something else I learned." He explained. "All the worlds, all these places, they use to be ONE world. A war over the light destroyed it, and all I know for now is that 'the light within the hearts of children restored the world in separate pieces'."

"'The lights within the hearts of children'…" Dextra repeated, taking in this information in fascination. "So then, if they were all one world before, is that why our world and yours are similar?"

"Who knows?" Toshiro shrugged, truly having no answers for her at this time. "The magic in that cave may have caused a butterfly effect across this world to produce its power, or it could have evolved entirely on its own. Either way, our two worlds don't have any real connection to each other except for that past, which they share with all of the worlds, and they don't have Devil Fruits or Soul Reapers. I still don't think the first had any real connection to the Soul Society as it is today, he just set off the chain reaction to start it, and I happened to be born into that world as well to reunite with Hyorinmaru."

The lullaby slowly came to an end and Dextra glanced down at it again, hand itching to restart it.

"Kind of ironic you found this when you're having trouble with the darkness." She said absentmindedly.

"It is rather convenient… but considering its purpose and its connection to the first Guardian, it's a convenience I'll take. I won't refute the idea that I may not have found my way here by accident."

The eagle child looked up at him with a questioning gaze and Toshiro responded with an almost unnoticeable smile. Like her, he seemed a lot more at ease than he had previously.

"Stumbling on the one person on this world that can fix me? Coming to this cave and finding this music box? Normally I hate the idea of being led around blindly on a path I didn't choose, but this path feels like one I need to take to get stronger, and a lot better than the path I was forced on to be in this mess to begin with. All I have to do now is choose what to do with it."

Hyorinmaru gave a deep rumble in his throat similar to a purr, rubbing his icy head against his master's own.

"It sounds like a hard path." Dextra's voice went quiet as she said this, mind drifting to old memories that made her heart hurt.

"It is, especially when I'm so used to trying to do the right thing and watching the darkness tighten its grip on me." Toshiro responded with a sigh, choosing not to ask personal questions and just continue his own thoughts. "All I can do right now is follow the Keyblade's guidance and that of the spirit of my previous lives, or I suppose life as I'm the second. If I do that… perhaps I can finally be free of Aizen's hold."

"Is he the one that did this to you?" Her question was cautious, knowing he tended to get angry about the topic. He seemed resigned, however, and not angry, so she relaxed the tension in her shoulders that she didn't realize she had.

"He didn't make me a Nobody, no, but he played a huge role in getting me to that state… Xehanort is the name of the one who pulled me into the darkness, namely his own Nobody Xemnas."

"Why does his Nobody have a different name?"

"I'm not sure and personally I don't care, I simply refused to accept their demands and kept my own name. I needed something to hold onto… I can't let them win."

"But then, if the Nobody guy was the one who made you a Nobody, what did Aizen do?"

Toshiro looked away briefly, his anger returning at the memories attached to the dreaded name.

"He made sure I was on a path towards darkness… isolating me, fueling my hatred, giving me a reason to snap, to want a power I could not have. While seeking out his own goal, he made sure to prepare me for his ally in the darkness, Xehanort. Everything he did…" His hands clenched tightly into fists and she thought she could hear him grind his teeth together.

' ** _He has no control now; this path you walk is unknown even to him._** ' Hyorinmaru assured. ' ** _His power will no longer be able to control you once we reverse this handicap._** '

Complete Hypnosis. The power to control all five senses. Those who have seen the Shikai of Aizen's zanpaktou are forever under its spell, even when not released, forced into a scenario they have no control over. That power put the Soul Society to its knees, and made Toshiro himself do things that haunted him every day after the war. Nightmares of Aizen's power over him had made him colder than ever to those around him, seeking to avoid connections that the ex-Reaper may use against him, causing him to be alone. Only Ichigo had put an end to it, the only one strong enough to face him and not under Aizen's control.

Without the ability of his zanpaktou Aizen could no longer place people under its spell, but the power he gained from the Hogyoku on its own was stronger than all of them, and they weren't certain if he could still control the hypnosis on those already under it. It was why, even locked away, Toshiro was still afraid of him. He was able to admit that to himself at least now. Knowing everything that he did, knowing that his journey through the worlds was not necessarily by accident, that unassuming, smiling face still terrified him. That's why Xemnas had won over him so easily, that's why seeing the puppet in the cave had made him freeze. He didn't know how to react anymore, to know if he should kill or wait, and the indecision, to not know what was real or not, scared the Nobody.

He almost killed Hinamori once acting so rashly, he didn't want to hurt anyone else. The nightmare Maleficent had given him, of murdering all those who had been against him, still made him shudder. Even if they hated him, seeing himself become such a monster was a sight he never wanted to see again.

A hand touched lightly to one of his, bringing him from his thoughts to look back at Dextra. She looked concerned, no doubt sensing the conflict within him with her sharp Haki.

"You know… the person who made me so different as a harpy… by the sounds of it, what he did isn't too different from what Aizen did to you." She looked uncomfortable saying it, but she clearly wanted to offer a bit of her own troubles in return for Toshiro saying his. So, he listened, and as he calmed down she seemed to become more at ease as she spoke. "He was a big pirate, one of the ones who worked for the Marines to take out other pirates in return for ignoring most of what they did. The Shichibukai. His crew, the 'family', were all really strict with me in training, but he always made sure to be super nice to me. Once I was… trained… he acted less like a dad and more like a Master, if I did things wrong I still got hurt. The things he told me to do as a bird… I got so upset, I somehow separated myself from 'her' so that I would just obey and not get hurt, but I didn't want to think it was me… so that's why, when I get that way, I only respond to orders. Papa hates it so much, he's been trying really hard to fix it, but he makes sure I can't hurt anyone and that I go back to normal as quickly as possible."

"That… actually doesn't sound too different after all." Toshiro grimaced as she finished her story with a sniffle. "But he didn't do that to me… he did it to someone very close to me. There was only one other kid in the village where I lived that didn't hate me. She became a Soul Reaper before I did, and he made sure she was his Lieutenant. He treated her like a daughter… and she fell head over heels for him. But once the time came to put his plans in place… he had no issues running her through where she stood, still believing in him, and SMILING at her." Ice spread thinly across the floor as he lived through the memory once more. "And he did it while I was there to see it. He almost killed me when I went after him… the worst part? She still believed in him."

Dextra gulped nervously at the expression in his eyes. This man had truly hurt Toshiro, and he had a murderous passion in his gaze for the one who hurt someone so close to him. He calmed down, though, and took a deep breath to ease the tension in his body. The frost broke up a bit as he returned to a more relaxed state. At least the ice had still kept a blue hue.

"I guess now I understand why being around you felt familiar… you're so much like her." He told her, finally looking back up at Dextra. "Different powers and a different family… but it sounds like you two went through the same thing. All I can say to that is it will get better… she's been recovering well since the war against Aizen and his followers."

"What about you?"

The question caught him off guard and he blinked in confusion for a moment, before looking away again.

"I haven't really been given the chance to…" He grimaced once more.

"You shouldn't hold onto it so tightly then." Dextra offered, and when he looked back at her, listening curiously, she continued. "Whenever Aizen gets brought up, there's so much anger and darkness that pops up I get worried you might snap again. Maybe… you should try letting yourself move on? If your hatred for him is being used so much, maybe you need to let it go."

"That's easier said than done, unfortunately." Toshiro sighed. "You're not the first one to tell me that, so don't feel too bad, I'm just… it's not easy for me… especially now, when my emotions are just memories of my past, the only thing I have."

"Focus on the memories of happy times."

The look he gave her in response to the idea was so full of sadness and regret it almost made her cry as well. He didn't need to say anything for her to understand.

He didn't have any happy memories.


	34. Bonding Through Music

The two ships decided to head out when the night finally became completely dark, only the stars and moon to guide them and light their way. There was no reason to stay on the mountain once the Log Pose had set, the ships far more comfortable to sleep on than the rocky shores and too exposed should a Marine ship pass by, so it was better that they rest while sailing. Toshiro went back to the Sunny since the submarine planned on following her underwater and he still wasn't comfortable dealing with the stuffy heat. As long as both crews decided to travel together, he preferred the open air of the Straw Hat ship. Dextra returned to her siblings and told her Papa what she learned, though she respected Toshiro's wishes to keep the music box a secret for now as a silent thanks for him letting her hear the music. Law was curious about the odd bond they seemed to have formed after talking about their pasts, but was satisfied with learning a little more about the troubled warrior and let it be. This Aizen character definitely sounded dangerous, after all, and if he really was similar to Doflamingo… well, the surgeon could understand Toshiro's reluctance to talk about it.

Watching them leave from the mountain top, Maleficent bore a frown, the shy Tebliel at her side with more of a concerned expression.

From the witch's perspective, her plan had failed. She had hoped Lacia would succeed with her plan to push Toshiro back into the darkness before Maleficent would snatch him back for her own purposes. Lacia's death wasn't the issue, it was that Toshiro seemed to have found something inside the mountain that had the opposite effect both she and Lacia had wanted.

It was not hopeless, however, as when Tebliel had made her report she had shown a concern for the children due to Hyorinmaru's behavior. The Human-Mink had no knowledge of the dark fairy's real intentions, or that she even controlled the Heartless, so all was not quite lost yet. She had singled out the children after noticing one of the five was missing, mainly deceased as they were holding a memorial, and the broken hearts of children were easy to corrupt. She'd done it to Riku, and she did it now to Tebliel, the hybrid woman having almost given up on life as she was displayed at a slave auction until Maleficent saw the use of an angel's powers and snatched her up. Her secondary goal of manipulating the orphans was that, after noticing one had a fowl form, she would punish their attack on her sweet raven by replacing him with the harpy eagle.

Tebliel still as naïve as she was, she could gain favor from the orphans, especially now that Hyorinmaru was acting more Heartless than guardian. This would be easy…

"My dear angel, it seems the child of ice has been lost to darkness." Maleficent played up the sadness in her tone as she turned slowly to the Human-Mink woman at her side. "Perhaps Lacia finished her goal after all. This dragon of darkness who protects the boy is a danger. Should he choose, I'm sure he could demand the dragon kill them all if he felt they were no longer useful to him."

"But… Thursday seemed like such a nice girl, would he really hurt her?" Tebliel's wings fluttered nervously. In Maleficent's eyes, the wings had gone pitch black, shadows rising from their feathers.

"He is troubled and unstable… I have little doubt that, should the situation present itself, he would attack her." Maleficent put a hand over her heart in a feint of worry for the fate of the orphans.

"Well let me go get them." Feathers rustled as the Human-Mink's wings opened to take flight.

"Not yet, my child, the dragon would be quick to dispatch you. Best not to lose your life as well." The dark fairy stopped her, putting the rest of her plan into place. "There are people here who deliver justice to these unruly pirates, are there not?"

"The Marines? But they would lock her up too since she's part of the crew." Tebliel did not seem to like the idea her boss was suggesting.

"Do not worry about that, I will save them from such cages just as I did with you." Adding a little more to make sure she still had the angel's favor, Maleficent ruffled the other's hair a tiny bit in the best mockery of motherly concern. "But that means these Marines must find them. We will have them take care of the darkness, there's no telling how dangerous this boy may end up being."

Tebliel gave it a good hard thought before agreeing. Of course she believed Maleficent would save the children from a pirate's execution, why wouldn't she? Her wings spread once more and this time she was allowed to fly away, away from the fleeing ships to find a different kind. Maleficent's benevolent smile quickly returned to malice once the angel was out of sight.

"The world will always be against someone like you, Hitsugaya Toshiro." She chuckled to herself before vanishing into the darkness.

Until they were caught up in this new, unknown plan, the two pirate ships were allowed to sail in peace. Toshiro chose to hide himself away in the crow's nest – which Zoro also seemed to use for training – for now while everyone went to go sleep, a nice high place away from the others should anything happen in his sleep again, though he didn't really feel like sleeping. He had the music box in hand again, admiring the dragon-like features added to the otherwise delicate fairy while he thought over the memories he had been shown. If what he saw was true, did the Head Captain know anything about it? Yamamoto was of course the oldest of the Soul Reapers, and the one who put the Thirteen Court Guard Squads together, as well as the school. And if that were so, then did he perhaps know Toshiro's first incarnation, the Heavenly Guardian, who bonded to Hyorinmaru and gave the Soul Reapers their spirits? So far the Head Captain was as in the dark about all this as he was, and seemed as sure as everyone else that the worlds had always been separate.

He had a lot of questions about the Soul Society's history now, ones that could only be answered when he went home… but ever since speaking with Nami and Robin, he had a growing feeling of not wanting to return to that restricted place. Having seen the cavern, the proof before his eyes of a world once whole, he wanted to know more, to understand what his predecessor dealt with in order to ready himself for what was no doubt a repeat in history. He wanted to keep exploring, to keep seeing.

But would Soul Society let him?

As he was now, if Yamamoto chose to have him isolated back on Soul Society… the sheer power of the old Reaper's fire-type zanpaktou would put Toshiro on his knees. Just as he could freeze an entire island around him, should Yamamoto match him in strength, all that ice and the water that fueled it would evaporate. He would have nothing. He knew he couldn't stand a chance against that powerful fire spirit, not yet. Perhaps that's why he clung to the rules and his title; if he rebelled now, he could be killed, and he would have no chance.

The pirates thought his powers were scary, wait until they met the one said to hold the power of a sun in his sword when his Bankai was released. One touch of the blade turned anyone to ash.

The threat of the old man aside, Toshiro had plenty of other things to worry about. His revival meant that soon another wave of darkness was coming to devour the worlds once more, and the Heavenly Guardian was needed to protect the light of Kingdom Hearts so that the worlds could be reborn again if needed. But Xehanort and his two halves had clearly anticipated that, perhaps even set the events in motion for his reincarnation. There was no telling how complex and deep that man's plans were, how far ahead he had thought. If he was anything like Aizen had been but on a grander scale, even Toshiro's current attempts to return to normal might be planned out. Perhaps Xehanort wanted him to become stronger before he took control of the guardian.

It was a huge possibility, but just as he had told Dextra, so far this was a path he didn't mind being led down. He had to believe he could overpower the man of darkness when the time came, so he needed to learn as much as he could. The idea of 'knowledge is power' was a moniker Toshiro believed in and so far Xehanort had all the knowledge. So, he had to catch up, and avoid the other's attempts to drag him back down in the meantime. It was not going to be easy, had never expected it to, especially after the giant Heartless from the Summer Island first appeared.

Maleficent was another problem he needed to worry about. She controlled the Heartless, and was a master of manipulation, traveling through the path Aizen had already gone to further isolate and torment Toshiro in order to bring him to her side. If she ever tried to actually fight him, he might be able to deal with it and be done, but that wasn't how she operated, and that made her far more dangerous than just a fight between dragons.

All of his most dangerous opponents were manipulators and schemers, people who already had information he didn't and was using it to their advantage, and he was the unfortunate one stuck in the middle of their conflict with a power he did not want that they did. The amount of caution he had to take for every situation to avoid their claws was driving him crazy.

Sighing heavily, Toshiro wound up the music box again, hoping for the calming lullaby to settle his thoughts. He had gotten off track from trying to clear up the memories he had seen to worrying about the 'bad guys'. Something in the brief flashes of history of his predecessor would give him valuable information to hopefully learn to control Kingdom Hearts. He had come to understand the ones that the Nobodies had been creating was a fake, as compared to the one he had seen with the Heavenly Guardian it paled in comparison, a dark Kingdom Hearts that was simply there to eventually replace the real one, and that connection was the only reason it still affected him when he was next to it.

But that knowledge alone wouldn't help him. Obviously Xemnas knew it was fake, he made it, trying to copy the work of the first Heavenly Guardian as best he could, so Toshiro knowing it as well didn't really do anything in terms of the power struggle for information.

He wanted to know more about the original world, about how it worked and kept itself going with so many places and people. He wanted to know about the groups of Keyblade Wielders, children by the thousands protecting the light, and what happened to them all to fall to darkness, about how those children brought the light back. He wanted to know what the first did to set in motion the events to stop the darkness. That last one might be the most important, as it would allow Toshiro to know what he needed to do should history indeed repeat itself.

Noise by the edge of the crow's nest brought the Ice Nobody from his thoughts, turning to look at the hands at the top of the ladder pull up their owner. He was surprised to see the Straw Hat wearing Captain himself, bright-eyed and curious, in search of something.

"Oh, this is where it was coming from!" Luffy beamed, finding the object of his search as he looked at the music box still resting on a stunned Toshiro's lap. "Shishishi, Zoro was complaining about it but Robin was sitting outside listening, we all thought it was a ghost ship or something!"

"…Everyone can hear it?" This was the only question Toshiro thought to ask. The lullaby was only for those with troubled hearts – or in his own case a troubled mind – and Luffy did not act like a troubled pirate.

"Anyone who's not asleep, Shishishi." Luffy pulled himself up into the room and unceremoniously plopped to a sitting position across from Toshiro. "Wow, what a cool little box! And such nice music!"

"How… does it make you feel?" Toshiro questioned, curious.

"Hm?" Luffy went in to a thoughtful pose for a moment, scratching at his nose to figure out how to describe it. "Hm… like I just had a ton of the best meat, and the best adventure!"

While the pirate laughed joyfully, Toshiro took his words into his own thoughts. He supposed it made sense for the music box to bring about whatever made one the happiest, a counter to any dark feelings residing inside oneself, so for Toshiro that feeling was simply a peace of mind and a good night's sleep.

"Only people with trauma in their past, one that still hurts them, can hear this music." Toshiro finally explained for the smiling rubber man.

Luffy's smile went away, and for once Toshiro finally saw an adult, someone who immediately remembered what it was that would fit such a requirement. He looked at the dancing fairy in a completely new light, understanding why it gave him thoughts of a happy adventure with someone from his childhood who was no longer with him.

"Can I go show my friends?" Luffy asked, his smile coming back. The rubber man never missed a chance to share wonderful things with his companions.

Toshiro looked hesitant, still not quite comfortable with the idea of a pirate taking away this treasure. It didn't take him long to come up with a compromise, though, as his curiosity got the better of him.

"I'll bring it down." He told the pirate. Beaming, Luffy accepted the terms with a cheer and jumped right down the opening in the crow's nest, landing with a loud thud and a laugh on the deck below. Toshiro followed with less energy, actually using the ladder before jumping down with a lot more grace and a far more silent landing than the other had. By now the lullaby had run its first course, but that was fine, Luffy was busy running around grabbing his crew, so no music would have been noticeable anyway.

"What's with all the noise, Luffy?" Nami grumbled in a dangerous tone as she stood next to Robin, having emerged from the room the two girls shared when all the boys made complaints about being shoved from their beds. Zoro, out on deck as always anyway, just looked over at them all with a sleepy glare.

"Snowy's got a super cool thing!" Luffy answered gleefully. Toshiro had finally relented on the random nicknames as long as he never said 'Shiro' again, Luffy just didn't care and Toshiro didn't have the patience to keep correcting him.

"What a beautiful music box." Robin stated with a genuine smile, spotting the glowing figure in the still open box. Nami was instantly intrigued.

"I apologize for not showing you before, I had found it in the cavern… but you are pirates, and this wasn't something I could let go of. It's an important memento of my predecessor and the family he lost to darkness." Toshiro replied to the compliment, noticing as Nami's greedy look vanished instantly and became more solemn. "The magic in it eases any pain someone might have, otherwise it makes no sound at all."

Leaving his explanation at that, he wound it up for them before sitting down on the grass and resting it on the ground in front of him for now. The others slowly made their way over as the lullaby began to play, intrigued and drawn in by its magic. An odd air of peace washed over the whole ship, even the Sunny seemed to rock with the waves less and still, the ocean becoming calm and quiet. The fact that every member of the Straw Hats seemed to be listening intently to the music was a big insight into why such a chaotic group of people worked so well together. They all had some kind of trouble in their heart, something they must have all overcome together, and even between the arguing and sparring and yelling, there was something they all shared that made them absolutely inseparable.

Toshiro himself felt a lot more at ease among them once he saw this. He didn't have to know their exact pasts to understand that they had gone through a lot, just as he had, and he admired the strength they still had despite such trauma. He admired how carefree and resilient they all were, fooling even him into thinking they had nothing to worry about.

Brook walked away for a moment, silent as the night, before returning with his violin. He listened for a moment more, a musician appreciating every note of the music, before he put the bow to the instrument and began to play along. The man might be a walking skeleton, but his respect and passion for music shined in this moment as he gave the lullaby a whole new uplifting tone. The fairy seemed to flare brighter and the night sky embraced the music in its wind. For a moment, the world did not exist, only this single ship and a luminous sky.

And then the music ended, and everyone took a moment to blink, returning from their blissful trance with a renewed sense of peace and feeling like they had the perfect amount of sleep. The sun was peeking up over the horizon and lightening the sky. Somehow the entire night had passed them by, and they realized they were all laying out on the grass of the deck. They really had gone to sleep, not a dream to be had and wondering where the time went.

"Whoa…" Sanji was the first to break the silence, though unable to say anything else, everyone else still silent and stunned as well.

"That's some impressive magic." Jimbei's tone held awe to the power they had fallen under without even knowing.

"…yeah." Toshiro was speechless, not having expected anything like it. He had his suspicions that Brook aided such a powerful effect, as the music box had not done that previously, and turned to the skeleton in curiosity. "Your violin… it's like you amplified the effect."

"Oh? Did I?" Brook didn't seem to be consciously aware of causing anything different, but Toshiro knew there had to be something. The fairy had responded to the skeleton playing along, the magic had grown stronger for a brief moment, he had felt it.

"Your music always did give people a strong reaction!" Chopper praised his crewmate. "You can make them dance and fall asleep whenever! It's fun!"

"That's because I put my heart and soul into it!" Brook replied passionately, before turning back to them with a more deadpan tone. "Ah, though I don't have a heart, Yohohoho!"

"You and me both." Toshiro cut in.

A few of the others laughed at that, Brook putting his hands to his face in surprise at the response to his joke, and Toshiro couldn't help a small smile.

"Maybe that's why you made the lullaby stronger, that soul power you have for your music matched perfectly to this song's magic." Robin suggested, barely hiding a grin of her own.

"Ah! Perhaps that's true!" The skeleton looked pleased by this, glad he could help everyone with such a perfect rest, to rejuvenate their spirits. He hoped to memorize the lullaby for future restless nights.

There was the sound of waves being parted and they turned towards the right side of the ship, spotting their ally ship rising from below the sea. Once above the waves, the doors opened and a sweaty polar bear burst outside to seek the relief of fresh air and a sea breeze. Following behind him a little slower were a few other sleepy Heart Pirates.

"Man, why'd the last island have to be a mountain, a fluffy inn bed would have felt super nice." Penguin complained aloud as he stretched himself out.

"How's everyone up there?" Shachi called out to the Thousand Sunny as he finished his own stretches.

"We feel great!" Usopp responded with a huge grin, giving the confused engineers a thumb up.

"Best sleep ever! Barely noticed we fell asleep!" Chopper added on cheerfully.

"Huh?" The two boys looked baffled, even Bepo gave them a curious tilt of his head.

"Toshiro found this cool music box!" The reindeer explained excitedly. "It had magic!"

"What!? No fair!" Not as surprised by the term magic anymore, the engineers were more annoyed that they didn't get to share in this spontaneous discovery, especially if it meant such an intense sleep that one didn't remember it.

The two crews mingled once more and Toshiro had to explain the music box again, less paranoid about revealing it to everyone now. They asked to hear it play, only to be disappointed as they heard nothing. Bepo seemed to hear something, eyes closed and straining his ears, while the orphans were drawn in like moths to a flame. Toshiro was a little concerned what the four had been through to hear it so strongly – if it had been the death of Heinrich the whole crew would hear the music – but again chose not to pry. He took a glance at Law, surprised to see the surgeon with his eyes closed and listening peacefully from where he leaned against the railing of his own ship.

An odd sense of calm had come over the two crews, and for once Toshiro felt quite comfortable among them all, beginning to let his guard down and smile more at their antics. Robin watched like a proud mother, glad they were able to help the mysterious being. She only hoped they found a way to fix him before the darkness came back stronger.

Far in the distance, a fleet of ships was making their way through the water.


	35. Negotiations With Interruptions

"Admiral Fujitora! We've spotted them!" A young Marine shouted out from the crow's nest. "Straw Hats and Heart Pirates together in the water, just like our source said!"

"Proceed with caution! The Heart Pirates' submarine is fit for escaping and firing underwater, if they decide to do so we will lose them!" The old figure in purple robes called out to the men around him, the gleaming white cape of one of the three Marine Admirals hung over his shoulders. His eyes lay closed, but opening them would be no different to him, as he could not see regardless. That did not mean he was completely blind, however, as every sound and thudding footstep painted a picture in his mind of his surroundings. The Marines of each ship were gearing up for a fight, ready to take down two of the notorious Supernovas, pirates who had made big names for themselves within their first year on the seas. These two in particular were big targets after the mayhem of Dressrosa, where their alliance had uprooted the entire country. Straw Hat himself was becoming troublesome after picking a fight with and escaping from Big Mom, a Pirate Emperor known for demolishing any who tried to betray or escape her.

In short, these two crews were very dangerous, so he had to take extreme caution as he approached to defeat them. Fujitora had been tasked with bringing in the heads of the two Captains by the Fleet Admiral himself after failing to do so on Dressrosa, and at this point an Admiral was almost necessary in a battle with them.

The young woman who had tipped them off to their location had already taken her leave, but hoped to hear back for their defeat, as well as asking if Fujitora could keep the children that had been traveling with Trafalgar Law safe. He had agreed only on the account that he himself detested harming children where necessary, not to mention the younger they were the hopefully easier they were to change.

Tebliel, the informant, did not mention the mysterious guest traveling with the pirates. She did not think there was a need to, as he would hopefully be stopped along with the others.

The bright yellow Polar Tang and cheerful looking Thousand Sunny came into view. Soon, the fighting would start.

On the ships, the cheerful atmosphere cut off immediately at the sight of the huge warships coming their way. Toshiro could only assume they were Marines by their attitude, confirming that fact as he saw the logo and name proudly worn on the sails.

"Of all the times!" Usopp despaired, panicking the most just above little Chopper shaking behind Robin's legs.

"They won't be so hard." Zoro was exactly the opposite, drawing his swords and sporting a grin that rivaled Kenpachi's before a fight.

"Wait!" Toshiro spoke up, causing them all to turn to him. "They're the ones in charge of protecting everyone, correct?"

"Yeah, and being in our way." Sanji said with a scoff.

"But then they can spread word around a lot quicker, being such a large group?"

"You want to tell them about the Heartless?" Law spoke up from his ship, catching on to the other's idea.

"If they believe me, it might help avoid more disasters like the giant Heartless in the desert and the Stigma." Toshiro confirmed with a nod.

The Heart children looked up at Law expectantly; they all knew well what another Stigma could do.

"You want to go straight to the Marines? They won't believe you!" Nami argued, tone barely concealing worry for their friend going straight onto the enemy ship.

"They don't know I'm traveling with you yet, there's a chance I can still talk to them as a neutral party." Toshiro countered. "They might hate me afterwards, but if I can at least get them spreading the warning about the Heartless, they can be prepared."

"How are you going to convince them?" Law questioned.

"If I have to, I have my own Heartless as proof." The Nobody patted the head of the dragon curled around his shoulders. "I understand you're on different sides, and I'll still stick with you all, but my first priority has been and always will be protecting the lives of the living from dark creatures. On my world it was Hollows, now it's the Heartless and Nobodies. I have to make an effort to keep to that."

"We understand, but please be careful." Robin replied, concerned about what might happen.

He nodded in response before Flash Stepping away across the ocean, leaving small patches of ice where he touched the water that floated away once he left. Hyorinmaru slipped back into his shadow to wait until called.

Despite the distance, Toshiro only took a minute to reach the warships. He caught onto a powerful Spiritual Pressure… it had to be the one in charge, no doubt, and was easily Captain level or above, very startling for a human. He headed towards it, guard up and prepared to make his point before jumping onto the target ship.

The Marines all jumped in shock at his sudden presence, the purple clothed man putting a hand to his sword. He was very tall, even taller than Law and Brook, who up until this point were the tallest people Toshiro knew here. Considering the man's power and the way in which he held himself, that height was a bit intimidating for Toshiro.

"And who might you be?" The man's tone was neutral, but there was no doubt a threat behind it should Toshiro prove hostile.

"My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro… I'm here with a warning." The Nobody spoke to the Admiral as he would his own Head Captain, hoping that would ease some of the tension and help them listen to him. The Marines all had nervous fingers on the triggers of their guns, and the Admiral's hand never left his sword, but they were listening.

"One that is not a threat I hope." The latter spoke with a warning of his own.

"Not from me. In the past few weeks, an outside threat has been rising, and soon it will start becoming powerful enough to show itself. At that point, it would be too late for a lot of people."

"Outside threat?" The Admiral mused, sounding a little more curious now. "I have felt a disturbing shift in the air in recent days… It lingers around you as well."

"Your senses aren't wrong… my arrival coincided with theirs, but my goal is to stop them. That's why I've come to you. As the force in charge of protecting the people of this world, the Marines can spread out further than I alone could and put a stop to their threat before it grows too big."

"But then why travel with pirates?" A Marine spoke up and the Nobody stiffened. "There's no islands around here, just those villains, their ships are the only place you could have come from."

That explained why there was still a heavy tension with everyone. They hadn't been fooled for even a moment, though some were still confused as to how he got aboard unnoticed.

"Yes… I'm traveling with them." The tension grew more hostile as Toshiro gave his honest answer. "If I explained everything you probably wouldn't believe me… not yet. But I'm not here to fight you, my only goal is to make sure the Heartless are stopped."

"Heartless?" The Admiral spoke his question at the unknown name.

"Creatures of darkness that consume the hearts of others to fill their own void." Toshiro explained in brief. "The more they kill, the more there are, and the stronger the darkness in one's heart the stronger the Heartless, so there are potentially very dangerous breeds running around as we speak. Since my time here I have seen a giant Heartless formed from the tortured hearts of an entire island and another island seeped in a plague that almost took them all. It will only get worse if something isn't done about them, but I'm only one person."

"Sir, this all sounds like nonsense to me." A man who looked like the ship's captain spoke to the Admiral with a scoff to his tone.

"His voice does not waver; he does not seem to be lying." Fujitora mused, ever more curious about the boy who had so suddenly appeared before them. He couldn't see him, but he could sense a great power within the tiny body, and a drive to protect. However, there was still his choice in travel partners to be concerned about, as well as what exactly these 'Heartless' could do.

"I wouldn't have jumped onto an enemy ship if I was lying." Toshiro said, still determined to make them believe without having to show Hyorinmaru. "Though I suppose enemy isn't the right term, I aim to be a neutral presence here. My only enemy is the Heartless."

"If that is as you say, why not come to the Marines first? Why these pirates?" The Admiral needed to know before he could trust the other's word, no matter how sincere he sounded.

"I… I'm not from here… I came here by accident, really, stuck with a condition that threatens to drag me down into the darkness as well. Trafalgar Law and his crew found me, and his power may be the only thing in all the worlds I've been to that can cure me. He's my only hope to fix this, so I'll tell you what you need about the Heartless, but please ignore them this once."

"Worlds? Bah!" Several Marines laughed along with the one who spoke. "And a pirate being your only hope? We've got way better doctors than that sadist!"

"The Op-Op Fruit is indeed a unique and remarkable power." Fujitora's out loud musing cut off their laughter, stunned he was taking any of this seriously. "You must either be an impressive liar or under a strong delusion."

' _So they don't believe me after all… I can keep trying, but there might be nothing I can do. The hatred between these groups runs too deep, I doubt I can uproot that with words alone._ '

"However…" The Admiral continued and Toshiro focused back on him in surprise. Perhaps some hope? "Multiple reports have passed my ears from those reading me the papers, and the odd occurrences I remember noting from those passages match up with what you're telling me."

"Sir?" The baffled Marine Captain sought an explanation.

"There was indeed an island plagued with a remarkably fatal virus within the last few weeks, and an island devoid of its citizens. There are other cases of strange animal behaviors, moving shadows, and vanishing civilians. If what this young man says is true… we have the answer to our mysteries."

' _Yes, they've been paying attention!_ ' Toshiro was far more hopeful now, but stayed alert. The Admiral had still not removed his hand from his sword.

"But, sir, other worlds?"

"I understand if you don't believe everything… no one is supposed to know about the other worlds, but with the Heartless here, and on a world so large, it's important everyone is prepared to fight back." Toshiro spoke up once more, trying to push his case. "I can tell you from travelling with the pirates that anyone with a Devil Fruit can defeat the Heartless without too much trouble, but ordinary weapons and people will be at a higher risk as they are of the darkness."

"What of you then?" Fujitora kept that information for later, but this mysterious stranger was still suspicious to him.

"Where I come from, magic is not impossible." Lifting a hand, Toshiro let the wind swirl around it, bringing with it formations of dark blue ice he could then easily disperse. Though he could not see it, the Admiral heard it, not to mention the tiny rise in power from the figure that made his image flare brighter in the older man's mind. Whispers from the other men gave him any other information he needed about it.

"Ice… The man currently with the Ice-Ice Fruit is wondering around outside our knowledge, so your power truly is something beyond our own. I respect your honesty, young man, but there is still the matter of who you travel with."

Before Toshiro could answer, a shout from the crow's nest made everyone tense.

"Admiral Fujitora! Ships approaching to our right!"

A few kept their eyes on Toshiro while everyone else looked to where the Marine pointed. Somehow, a mist had formed on the waters, heading their way with alarming speed. Hidden within it were silhouettes that definitely fit the profile of a ship. There were ten total, an even match to the Marine warships. They were fast and silent, giving everyone an eerie feeling that sent a shiver up their spine. Had it been night, they might have feared ghosts, but the morning sun dispelled such illusions. Fujitora simply frowned, sensing something dangerous.

"We may have to discuss this later; this is an unfortunate turn of events for our mission." The Admiral stated to their guest, turning instead towards the approaching vessels.

Seeming to realize they had been spotted, the mist began to clear, no longer leading the mysterious ships and allowing them to leave its embrace. At the front of each vessel, a terrifying face lead the way, the body of the ship bearing more of a resemblance to a skeletal structure than wood, gleaming yellow eyes picking their targets. Black sails made of shadow mocked that of a pirate flag, but instead of a skull and crossbones it was the bright red symbol of a crossed out heart. Heartless. On board each monstrous ship were entire crews of even more shadowy monsters.

"Heartless!" Toshiro exclaimed, surprised. Somehow the mist had kept them from his senses until they emerged, and he suspected an outside force had helped with that, but now his focus was needed here. He Flash Stepped to the side of the ship, eyes wide and jaw clenched. The Marines were quite startled by his sudden movement, but did nothing as they waited for orders from the Admiral about what to do with the approaching ships. "To think they could even possess ships… they won't be trapped on just islands anymore."

"I've never seen anything like them before!" A Marine shouted, shaking nervously.

"That mark is the symbol of the Heartless… I never expected them to approach in a force like this." Toshiro mused aloud before keeping his next words to his thoughts. ' _They have both the best and worst timing. There's no better way to prove to these guys the Heartless are here without revealing Hyorinmaru, but they still don't trust ME because of the pirates… Speaking of._ '

The Nobody had noticed that three of the Heartless ships had switched their direction, spotting the two pirate ships and seeking to destroy them as well.

' ** _The pirates are still the best choice._** ' Hyorinmaru rumbled, noticing his master's hesitation. ' ** _The Marines have proof now, word will spread. You have done your part._** '

' _Not if they die here before knowing how to fight them. I need to get them some of that cure… if they can weaponize it, even these grunts would stand a chance._ '

His dragon rumbled his agreement and went silent, allowing Toshiro to focus back on the battle. The warship closest to the approaching Heartless had begun firing upon the approaching ships. The ship gave a low rumble as it was hit by the barrage, some of the Heartless aboard it scrambling to avoid a cannon ball to the body. It would be comical if the oncoming threat wasn't so overwhelming.

Then, the ship did something no one expected. Once it was close enough, tanking any cannon fire that came its way, the lead ship began to rise out of the water. Everyone froze, even Toshiro, as they watched this ship lift itself above the Marine ship, the skeletal body opening up like a set of shadowy jaws, cracking and groaning with the effort of moving against gravity. The men on board shrieked and cried as the gaping maws of the Heartless came crashing down on them. It would sink them all for sure.

A ripple through the air, a sound eerily similar to something Toshiro was very familiar with and even made him tense, and a force pushed the ship back through the water just enough that, when it finally crashed down, all it snapped up was sea water.

"It seems these Heartless are going to be some trouble." Fujitora grunted, returning his sword to its sheath.

' _Was that… he just twisted gravity? Is that his power?_ ' Toshiro wondered. If that was the case, it was no wonder he was such a powerful figure, and to move such a huge ship at that distance, that was dangerous. Still, he couldn't stand around admiring it, he had to help. The Marine ships now outnumbered the Heartless ones since some had broken formation to attack the pirates, but with tricks like that it might not be too hard for the shadowed monsters to even the number. ' _Looks like you will have to reveal yourself anyway… here's hoping I can still get these guys what they need even if I protect pirates._ '

' ** _Then let us smash these foes!_** ' Eager to jump in, the shadows under Toshiro began to shift and grow.

In a motion that was now becoming as natural as drawing a physical sword, Toshiro brought both of his weapons to hand, the zanpaktou gleaming in the sun and the Keyblade giving off its own glow.

"What the-where did those come from?" A Marine gasped, startled by their guest now being armed.

"If you see a dragon, please avoid shooting it." Toshiro called back before vanishing once more, jumping across the ice he made with his steps towards the nearest ship. His shadow grew darker before seeming to absorb into the water during one of these steps, Toshiro now moving forward on his own. He heard the sounds of metal screeching and spotted cannons being aimed his way.

" _Icicle Flock_!" With a swing of his zanpaktou, large icicles shot forward and obliterated the cannons on one side. The ship itself bared its teeth, trying to turn the other way, but Toshiro was already on board striking at the Heartless. They weren't terribly strong, it seemed they were anticipating the ships to do most of the work and then sweep up the remaining foes afterwards, so it wasn't too difficult for the Nobody to remove the crew.

He was a bit startled as the ship reared up, unhappy with this unwanted rider, before suddenly diving forward. Was it trying to sink itself? It could probably survive such an action considering the ship itself was alive and not made of wood, didn't have an inside to flood, but it was unexpected. Gritting his teeth, Toshiro stabbed his blade into the deck of the ship and held on tight as the water rushed up over him.

Before their eyes, the entire ship of darkness became submerged.

* * *

 **I really liked the big ship in Dead Man's Tale that ate other ships, okay, and Heartless would totally do it.**


	36. Marines Hear Me Out

"Holy crap, they can do that!?" Usopp shouted in shock, eyes wide, as they watched their new friend vanish under the water.

"Doesn't bother us, now look sharp, we have our own problems." Law snapped before turning sharply and hurrying back into his own ship with his crew, shutting the door tight. In the next few moments the submarine started to submerge as well, the muffled sound of a torpedo being set free heard from above a few seconds before one of the three Heartless ships gave a startled shriek, part of its side lighting ablaze from the hit.

"Yeah, quit standing around, let's hit back!" Luffy cheered like this was a big game, latching his arms onto the side of the Sunny to launch over to a ship.

"Whoa, hey, if it decides to dive with you on it you'll drown!" Nami smacked the Captain to stop him from leaving.

"But Snowy did it."

"He's not a Devil Fruit user! He's fine!"

As if on cue, a burst of ice emerged from the sea, bringing with it familiar blue particles of a Heartless defeated by a spirit, Toshiro's head rising from the water before pulling himself up onto the new ice floe he'd made. That was one ship down, nine to go, he looked for which one was closest as his next target. He was about to jump over to one when something came crashing down from the sky, following a pattern of purple rings. A comet. The flaming boulder had little trouble demolishing the entire ship and its mock crew, bringing the number down to eight. The warships continued to vainly shoot at the remaining enemy vessels, ignoring the pirates altogether in fear of another of these sea-worthy monsters chomping down on them.

"Oh my, Fujitora is on those ships." Robin looked a bit pale, none of them having realized an admiral was here until they saw the familiar power. With the ability to move gravity itself, Fujitora could pull from above the atmosphere itself and rain down destruction, and could even create instant sinkholes.

The others didn't seem as concerned as she, however, as they focused on a ship heading straight for them, no doubt going to try and sink them as the first one had, with another just behind it, the third moving to their side. Zoro and Sanji eagerly awaited it to get closer, both ready to take it down. They had taken down entire ships before, just because it was made of bones and shadows didn't make it any harder to do the same to. The first got within range, but Sanji used Sky Walk to leap through the air and head over it, going for the second instead. Despite their argument, Sanji could tell what Zoro was about to do, and so was going after his own target.

" _Ittoryu Daishinkan!_ " Utilizing just one sword, Zoro created a powerful slice through the air. It hit the first ship dead on and for a moment it seemed to come to a full halt. The smaller Heartless on board looked surprised, before panicking as their ship split in two and began to vanish, sinking into the sea as the shadows dispersed. The Straw Hats ignored the lesser shadows to be lost to the ocean.

" _Diable Jambe - Bien Cuit: Grill Shot!_ " After a spin in the sky that lit his right leg on fire, Sanji launched down at the ship and delivered a sharp kick right to the center of the deck. Flames spread across the dark surface and there was a horrible breaking sound heard throughout the body. Shadows began to lift off the ship from both the mock crew burning in the flames and the ship itself, a grill-like pattern seen on the deck before all of it disappeared. Sanji jumped back over to his own ship quickly.

"Strong as always you two!" Usopp praised them with a cheer, jumping up happily with Chopper. "Only took one hit each!"

Nami gave a shriek and they turned to see the third had come up beside them and was beginning to lift itself up.

Bad choice on its part, three torpedoes shot straight up from below and into the vulnerable opening of the ship, causing it to tip over sideways from the force with an eerie shriek. The Heartless crew spilled over into the ocean as their ship began to disappear. Jimbei, who had been about to stop it himself, stopped short as their allies saved them the trouble. Once the Heartless was out of their view, they noticed a clump of yellow moving below the waves towards the Marine ships. The Heart Pirates were off to help destroy the other Heartless ships.

"Whoo, go Torao!" Luffy cheered before turning to his crew. "Come on, let's go help!"

"But there's an Admiral with them!" Chopper argued, not eager to get near the gravity user. "They'll hit us too!"

"Nah, Snowy was talking to them fine, let's go!"

Though wary, his crew followed along, the Thousand Sunny turning to head towards the last remaining ships.

While the pirates had been taking care of their three, Toshiro had downed one more and the Marines two with Fujitora's powerful help, leaving only two ships left that learned from the fight and stayed back, taking shots at the Marines instead. Two warships were badly damaged, another three with a few dents and broken boards, but fortunately no one sinking.

"Get the men off the worst ships, those two won't make it to the next island, I'll hold these two off." Fujitora ordered, sensing for the last two targets while the healthier ships focused on rescuing their fellow soldiers from the flaming vessels nearby that would soon be lost to sea once the fire hit the ammo reserves.

Jumping up from the water, Toshiro returned to the ship Fujitora was on.

"You might want to wait on that one." He warned.

Before the Admiral could demand an answer, there was a churning in the water that made him tense. The other soldiers watched with shock as the ocean began to swirl around one of the Heartless ships, almost like creating a target on it. The Heartless aboard looked frightened, scrambling to get off or find cover. It would not help them.

In the next moment, a huge form shot up from the water, taking with it the ship high into the air. Hyorinmaru had made himself enormous with the ocean around him, his icy black body menacing in the harsh light of morning, giant yellow eyes fixated on the ship in his huge jaws. With a growl that rumbled through every ship, Hyorinmaru began to close his jaws over his catch, the sounds of bones cracking and shrieks from the ship giving most shudders, until finally with a loud snap the ship was crushed in two. Like the other ships, a large heart began to float away, but unlike the others, this one was snapped up quickly by the huge dragon.

"W-what is that thing!?"

"Did these monsters turn a Sea King into a Heartless?"

"It crushed that thing like nothing!"

Hyorinmaru took little notice of their cries, ignoring the Marine ships altogether in favor of staring down the last remaining Heartless ship, jaws opening menacingly with a loud hiss.

"Is this the dragon we're to avoid shooting?" Fujitora asked of the Nobody.

Toshiro hesitated in his answer, noticing the suspicion and hostility in the man's tone. Naturally one would be concerned about a giant shadow dragon rising from the ocean devouring ships.

"He's… my Heartless." Toshiro answered honestly. "But he listens to me. It's why I'm traveling with Trafalgar, his power might be able to return me and Hyorinmaru to the way we're supposed to be. I hate seeing him this way more than anyone."

They paused in their conversation as Hyorinmaru continued his attack, lunging down atop the shadow vessel, not too far off from how the ships had tried to crush the others. The dragon vanished under the water along with his prey, the black body slightly visible beneath the waves before it moved deeper down. With that, the enemy fleet was demolished, and the two badly damaged Marine ships were evacuated and allowed to fall to the ocean floor. Other than those ships, there were little to no casualties, as none of the Heartless had managed to get close enough to board.

A few moments later, there was another large splash and Hyorinmaru returned from the ocean, already shrinking, but still big enough that when he flared his wings and came towards them many soldiers panicked. Fujitora partially drew his sword.

"It's fine, he's just returning to me!" Toshiro spoke quickly, wanting to avoid that crushing power directed at his partner. Hyorinmaru, at a more human size now, landed with a huff by his side to prove his master's point.

"You have a dangerous creature with you there… are you not here to eradicate them?" The Admiral spoke gruffly.

"I can't very well kill my other half."

A single brow was lifted in question at that.

"A Heartless is only half of the original, Hyorinmaru is mine, as I said before."

"A truly unfortunate predicament." Fujitora was keeping a careful ear out for any of the dragon's movements. Uncomfortable under the scrutiny and aware he was not allowed to kill the living – at least not these ones – the dragon vanished into his master's shadow, surprising them. That's where it had been hiding? It could have come out at any time and attacked? It also gave them a new insight on Heartless and why normal weapons might not hit them.

"It is… one that was my own fault, but I am trying to fix it."

Toshiro held his ground while the Admiral went into thought once more, thinking everything over again after the attack. So far he could tell that this odd stranger was being fairly honest with him, going so far as to admit he had his own darkness despite his goal to eliminate it. It was a trustworthy trait, and the boy had aided in destroying the fleet targeting his ships when this dragon of his could have caused serious damage along with the enemy. Fujitora could respect that, and after helping them out the least he could do was hear the other out. To show this to Toshiro, Fujitora removed his hand from his blade and stood out of a fighting position.

"Thank you for listening." Toshiro gave a bow of respect to such a gesture, getting the feeling that the tall warrior could see it just fine. "I would also like to offer something that might help against the Heartless… but I would need to return to Trafalgar's ship for it."

"What might this item be?" The Admiral questioned. He might be willing to listen, but he wasn't quite sure about letting him return to the pirate's ship.

"That island with the disease? Trafalgar Law and Chopper of the Straw Hats found a way to cure it."

"And why would they do such a thing?"

"Their own crew had become afflicted."

Fujitora nodded to that, understanding now why pirates would bother curing an illness.

"Because it was a plague caused by Heartless themselves, this cure also hurts them. If there was a way to add it to bullets or swords, then even those without Devil Fruits or special weapons could fight back against the Heartless. I feel the Marines would be able to utilize that the best in their soldiers."

"Indeed… but I doubt Trafalgar would give up such a prize without payment."

Toshiro grimaced. Right, pirates wouldn't just willingly help the people trying to kill them.

"Perhaps allowing us to leave this area unharmed?" The Nobody asked instead, hoping that would be enough.

Fujitora chuckled, seeming to understand Toshiro's concern.

"If you can convince that man of such an offer, I may be willing to overlook your presence here in favor of targeting that Heartless fleet."

"Sir!" Several Marines shouted in surprise.

"So far this young man has shown the spirit of a guardian, not a pirate." Fujitora stated, not noticing the flinch in Toshiro's expression at the term he used. "The more important threat now is these shadowed beasts, an offering of something capable of defeating them would be of more use to us than capturing them. That said," here Fujitora's voice went lower in warning and Toshiro tensed, "from now on, you will be regarded a pirate, and treated as such. I accept your information and warning, but if you continue to travel with Trafalgar, you are a threat."

"…Fair enough." Toshiro responded with a grumble, knowing he had no other choice. He needed Law's powers, and he had done what he needed to in order to ensure the safety of this world and its people, or at least he hoped he had. He had, in part, expected this. The Heartless fleet had been a surprise, helpful to his case, but did not change the fact that he was aiding pirates and had a Heartless of his own. If anything he was glad Fujitora acted as such, as it meant he was not foolish enough to befriend anyone of the dark. Maleficent would have a ton of trouble trying to get any help from Marines if their elite were like him.

As if on cue, the yellow submarine rose up from the waters, the thick metal door opening a moment later with Law stepping outside, Bepo and Jean Bart on either side of him. They were all tense, Law especially, and Toshiro wondered if they'd encountered each other before.

"A crew member of mine heard your conversation with her Haki and told me." Law spoke loud enough for the Marines to hear, holding up a vial of a familiar liquid. "This for a safe escape?"

"Ah, your little bird told you, did she?" Fujitora spoke with a much harsher tone than before, though Toshiro was surprised; he knew Dextra? So they had dealt with each other before. "That makes this easier then."

"I was going to demand a much higher price, but considering the circumstances, safe passage is probably as good as I'm going to get?" The surgeon responded with a smirk.

"You're lucky to get even that!" One of the ship captains shouted back venomously.

The Thousand Sunny came to a slow stop next to the submarine as she dropped anchor, the Straw Hats curious about what was going on.

"You okay Toshiro!?" Usopp called out to the small figure on the Marine ship. "You look kind of soaked!"

"I'm fine, water doesn't bother me." The Nobody called back. The only thing that WAS bothering him was his wet clothes, but he was glad for once that he couldn't get sick the way he was now, as even an ice user like him would not do well with freezing wet clothes in the ocean breeze.

"Oh right, he was able to swim just fine." A Marine pointed out. "So you really have magic?"

Toshiro nodded in response, catching the looks passed between soldiers. They were uncomfortable with someone having powers and not being able to drown, a foreign concept to them.

"So Kairoseki probably wouldn't have worked." This the soldier said to Fujitora, whose only response was a thoughtful hum. The Admiral was concerned about it, but his goal right now was the vial that Law was nonchalantly tossing up and down. Currently, if that broke, only the Dark Doctor and the Straw Hats' reindeer knew how to make it again, which would put them at a disadvantage. Fujitora was waiting to see if Law tried for such a tactic, ready to intervene if necessary.

At the foreign term, Toshiro tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"Eh, do you not know what Kairoseki is?" A Marine noticed his confused expression with confusion of his own.

"This isn't my world." The Nobody said in his defense, shrugging. "I can only guess it has an effect on Devil Fruit users?"

"Same effect as falling in the ocean." Law explained as bluntly as possible. "Now then, I know you had orders for our heads, Admiral-ya, but will you really let us go if I hand this over?"

"It will either be that or you surrender yourself." Fujitora responded stiffly. "The safety of the people come first, and a plague spreads faster than two pirate ships."

"Well surrendering myself doesn't sound too pleasing, so I'll pass." The surgeon smirked, earning a growl from the Admiral and some of his men. "I can't be sure you'll just let us go either, however, once this leaves my hands."

"I can remain here until you're out of range and Flash Step back." Toshiro offered. When he got worried looks from the Straw Hats and a suspicious one from Law, the Nobody added more. "I have one more thing to say. Maleficent is still somewhere around."

At that Law's expression changed to one of understanding and he seemed alright with the idea, glancing at Fujitora to see what he thought of this slight change. The Admiral didn't move, his silent stance as good as any answer, so with a somewhat annoyed click of his tongue, Law tossed the vial over to the ship. Toshiro caught it easily and turned to hand it over to the Marines, the pirates behind him moving away. No cannons fired.

"You seem confident we would not fire with you here." Fujitora spoke up, refusing to take the offered vial for a moment.

"If you're assuming I would attack when you did, that's not the case, I simply have a little more information and hoped that would be enough you would keep your word and let them sail." Toshiro answered.

"This… Maleficent?"

"Yes. She's a powerful manipulator of the darkness, and can control most of the Heartless. She followed after me seeking to capture me and Hyorinmaru, but she'll go after anyone she thinks would be a powerful Heartless. She's an impressive manipulator as well, be careful what she learns, for she will use it against you. If she were to turn powerful Devil Fruit users into her Heartless, there's no telling what she would do, and she's always seeking a powerful kingdom to rule."

"A Heartless queen?"

"That's one way to see it, regardless she is a powerful witch likely to worm her way into anything. The Heartless are one thing, she makes them far more dangerous."

"I see…" Fujitora filed away the name for later, curious to see if she would come after him or his fellow Admirals. She would be in for a rude awakening if she tried, especially now that they had ample warning. "Is she perhaps the one who put you in your current predicament?"

"Unfortunately no, but the one who did is defeated, she only hopes to benefit by taking control of me and Hyorinmaru, mostly my dragon."

' ** _You know it's YOU who is her main target._** ' Hyorinmaru grumbled.

' _I don't have time to explain the Heavenly Guardian, getting them to be on guard against her and the Heartless is enough for now._ '

Unaware of their internal conversation, Fujitora wondered about the possibility of this Maleficent gaining control of the ice dragon. It was capable of changing its size, which made it a hazard in the ocean, and could disappear into shadows. A monster like that could be dangerous.

But it was docile for now, and he was a man of his word, so while he would make sure to deal with this information later, he kept to the current negotiations and held his hand out peacefully for the cure. Toshiro obliged, passing off the vial.

"Thank you for allowing me to speak, I only hope it helps." With another slight bow of his head, Toshiro turned and vanished from their view. They could see him appear briefly as he darted across the water before he was out of sight with the ships.

"We're going back to Marine HQ." Fujitora ordered, pocketing the tiny vial. "There is a lot to discuss."

Back with the two pirate ships, Toshiro jumped back up onto the Sunny with relative ease, if a tiny bit out of breath from fighting in the water and having to make ice while he ran. He even shuddered slightly, reminding him that he was still in soaking wet clothes.

"Impressive negotiating skills, that could have ended a lot worse with an Admiral chasing us." Law had boarded the Sunny as well, along with the two who had backed him up before and Dextra. Some of his other crewmates were standing on the deck of his own ship to watch the horizon and listen in.

"I know how to keep myself out of trouble with higher ups." Toshiro responded with a shrug, though his thoughts were more concerned with how to dry himself.

"Come on, let's get you warmed up, friend." Jimbei ushered the tiny figure up to the bathroom area.

While the Nobody accepted the offer for a relaxing bath and change of clothes, the others took to sitting around or watches, the latter making sure no Marines tried to sneak up behind them. It was quite the hectic morning, and they wanted some rest before their next island adventure.


	37. Background Plans

Toshiro stepped out onto the deck to see the Straw Hats back to their usual – that he could recognize – chatter and chaos. Bepo, Penguin, Shachi and the children were on the Sunny as well, their Captain nowhere to be seen. The Nobody himself paused for a moment to appreciate the new clothes he had before going to meet them. Jimbei and Robin had apparently been kind enough to make him something after the events of the stigma plagued island destroyed the sleeves of his other one. The Fishman seemed to recognize someone of familiar taste, helping Robin with a dark blue kimono with a white edge and a black waist band. He kept the black pants and boots, donning a similar style as Zoro, though he refused to leave his as open. It wasn't quite the same as his Soul Reaper uniform, but it was a lot more familiar and therefore comforting.

"Yo, Snowy!" Luffy waved to the Reaper upon noticing him.

"Will you quit calling me that?" Toshiro grumbled.

"I wanna challenge Maru!" The Captain responded, not giving any indication he would stop.

"You-what?" Forgetting the nickname for now, the Nobody gave Luffy a bewildered expression.

Luffy proudly held up a fishing pole with bait on it.

"I'm gonna catch a fish bigger than him!"

Toshiro just looked at him with a deadpan expression, processing the situation. He could only assume the rubber man was referring to the giant size Hyorinmaru had gotten to just that morning to smash the Heartless Ships. The dragon they spoke of returned to his master's shoulders, curious as well about the challenge.

"But Luffy, I wanted to race him first!" Dextra darted over with a determined huff.

"No way, we never finished fishing!"

"I challenged him to a race first!"

"Good to know I'm only here as your host." Toshiro muttered to himself as the pair argued, Hyorinmaru giving an amused snort in response.

He headed down to the deck with them, keeping to himself and letting Hyorinmaru pick which to do first. While the dragon had their attention, Nami scooted over and sat next to the small figure.

"Hey, can I pick your brain for a second?" She asked. Once she had his attention by way of a curious tilt of his head, she continued. "It's about all the stuff that happened in the mountain. Any clue who that girl was working for? Because she was definitely after you."

"I noticed that too… there's only two possibilities, neither of them good. One is she's with Maleficent, the other is Xehanort."

"Xehanort?"

"I mentioned him to you as Xemnas, who is his Nobody."

"Oh… the one who made you a Nobody too. But I thought you said he was defeated." Nami looked a bit concerned about the contrary.

"Xemnas was… but I'm beginning to think that might not be the end of Xehanort himself. After those memories I got in the cave… I believe there might be a trick Xehanort is hiding. His Heartless, Ansem, was also super powerful, and I can't be as certain that half of him is gone, or that even if he is that Xehanort is completely gone."

"You've got some really tricky bad guys after you, don't you?" She tried to make a joke out of it, but her eyes could not hide her concern.

"Yes… and for reasons beyond my control." He let out a heavy sigh. "I never wanted to be a guardian… I just wanted to survive."

Their conversation paused as Hyorinmaru rose up from the water in his larger state, having jumped in earlier. His head was nearly as big as the Sunny herself, the rest of his body concealed in the ocean. There was no threat this time, however, as the Heartless was just showing off, head high as some of the boys and children praised his impressive form.

"Luffy, if you're going to catch a fish bigger than him, you'd have to catch a Sea King." Usopp pointed out to his Captain.

"Then I'll catch one!" Luffy looked more determined than ever.

"We don't have anything to catch one with!" Usopp wheezed in despair. "They'd tear us apart!"

" **If he can catch one, I shall kill it** ** _._** " Hyorinmaru hummed, Chopper translating for them so Toshiro could hang back and stay out of it.

"No way, it's my catch!" Luffy argued back, wanting to do all the work. "Go get your own!"

Snorting at the challenge, the black dragon turned from the ship and dove back under the waves. They watched the arch of his back until even his tail vanished under the waves before Usopp turned back to his friend.

"Luffy, you maniac, he'd bring back three before you could even hook one!"

"Bet!" The rubber man grumbled stubbornly, casting out his line and sitting down to wait impatiently for the unlikely bite.

"Oh boy…" Toshiro sighed again, this time in exasperation. He couldn't speak to Hyorinmaru this far away, even telepathically, so he could only hope his dragon wouldn't cause any trouble.

"At the least we'd eat well." Sanji commented from the side. "A Sea King would be hard to fit in the tank though…"

"He'd likely eat half of it first." The Nobody grumbled. "Maybe… he's never had to eat anything before."

"Well, what's your usual appetite?"

"The only reason Soul Reapers have to eat is to help restore their Spirit Energy, so I need decent meals, but I prefer lighter ones with the occasional snack."

"Well there's half your height problem, dead guy, with a spirit like him you should be eating way more." The blonde teased, earning an icy glare.

"Heavy meals slow you down." The Nobody argued.

"Tell him that." Nami pointed to her Captain with a snicker.

"He's… I don't know what's wrong with him."

"Neither do we." The two Straw Hats spoke with smirks.

Luffy shouted in excitement, reeling in rapidly and catching their attention. When he pulled up nothing but a chunk of black ice, everyone but him laughed, Luffy himself griping at Toshiro that his dragon was cheating. The Nobody just laughed as well, a refreshing feeling, and the others looked ecstatic. Nami and Robin shared a smile with each other, remembering their conversation before that revealed how trapped their guest was, happy he could get away from that momentarily.

There was one who was not so happy with the unfolding events. Maleficent removed the visual magic from her staff's orb with a scowl; he wasn't supposed to be smiling and laughing like that. He wasn't supposed to be making friends. It was Sora all over again; no matter what she tried these pirates didn't budge. The Heartless ships had been a complete failure. Her aim had been to have them demolish the Marines and tell her little angel that Toshiro had been the cause, but she had never expected such an intense power protecting that fleet. This Admiral had obliterated several ships without ever moving from his spot. He was dangerous.

Not to mention she hadn't expected Toshiro to try and be the diplomatic one, nor had she thought the Marines would listen. Somehow both had happened, and not only did her fleet get completely slaughtered, the two forces had come to some kind of agreement. The cure that the annoying surgeon had made was passed on, meaning that soon her Heartless would be annihilated on every front. She was no longer an unknown.

The only success was making her new minion believe it was some elaborate plan devised by Toshiro to gain their trust and use them. The Angel user was still willing to believe that Toshiro was the one who needed to be stopped.

This was only a good thing because Tebliel's ability was very strong against the darkness. As an angel, she could reverse anything negative, and Maleficent wanted to use this hypnotic ability to bring Toshiro under her control, and by extension Hyorinmaru. An abused and neglected soul like Toshiro would be easily swayed by the comfort and light of an angel's touch, Reaper or not. Setting up the scene for such an event was proving quite difficult, however, as this world had its own twists throwing wrenches into her plans, especially now that her nightmares no longer worked on him. Something was blocking her spells.

There was also Lacia. After having her angel observe the Chaos user it was clear that Xehanort was pulling strings from somewhere again. Xemnas may have been defeated, but the man was still somewhere, waiting, plotting. Unlike Toshiro, she had the knowledge of what normally happened when Heartless and Nobody were both destroyed.

The original came back.

Xehanort himself was by no means gone, and he was stretching his reach even further to get a hold on the elusive Heavenly Guardian. Maleficent was thankful to the man for revealing other worlds to her, but after realizing it was just part of his own plot, she was having none of it and sought to have the guardian for herself. She had to. She would not be slighted!

"Tebliel, my dear, we must continue in our efforts to catch the young Nobody and his dragon." The dark fairy spoke, her tone calm and smooth, revealing none of her inner turmoil.

"Of course." Tebliel was quick to her bird-like feet in order to follow Maleficent as the witch led them away.

Elsewhere, all the way back to Marine HQ, Fujitora endured the usual angry lecture from the current Fleet Admiral about returning empty handed before speaking as casually as a friend would. Sakazuki, usually known by his Admiral moniker Akainu, was every bit as hot-headed as his fruit power, the Mag-Mag Fruit. He had distinct orders for Fujitora to be kept away from HQ until he brought back the dead bodies of Luffy and Law.

"I have word of a much worse threat than those two, sir." The gravity user stated calmly. "We have a name for those shadows that have been snooping around and causing trouble. The Heartless."

"And what source did you get this from?" Akainu snarled, not about to accept this excuse for disobeying orders.

"A reliable one." Was all that was given as an answer. "He also passed on a particular fluid that can aid in stopping this new plague. I have sent it to Vegapunk to be analyzed and perhaps put into a usable form viable for fighting with. This occurred at the same time my fleet was attacked by an opposing fleet of these Heartless, where our source did his best to aid us before leaving to continue fighting them. He is but one man, however, and asked for our help."

"Why didn't he come to us directly?"

"If you were in the middle of chasing down pirates, would you turn away to talk to someone in charge instead of pursuing and finishing the job?"

The Fleet Admiral gave a warning growl at the question, deciding Fujitora had a point and moving on.

"During the surprise attack by these Heartless, I did lose sight of Straw Hat and Trafalgar Law. However, I did notice there was a new member among the Heart Pirates. He's young, but surprisingly strong."

He motioned for the Marine next to him to hand over the image. While the paper was exchanged, Fujitora did give a mental apology to their informant, but there was no way he could let Toshiro continue moving freely, guardian or not. He would keep his secret as the informant, as that would make it near impossible to get Akainu to take action against the Heartless, but that was the most leeway Fujitora could allow. He was still traveling with pirates.

"Another freakish child to watch out for." Akainu sneered as he looked over the picture of Toshiro, unknowingly taken of him back during the exchange, white hair with blackened ends plain to see as he had lost his hat long ago, teal eyes bright and knowing, dangerous. "What ability did he have?"

"For one, it was not a Devil Fruit." Fujitora answered honestly, causing his superior to look at him oddly. "He fell into the water after defeating a ship and could swim just fine. That, and his ability seems to be ice."

"That's Kuzan's fruit…"

"Precisely. He may become a problem later, but I would first like to prepare everyone against the Heartless. They have become far more widespread than one child."

Akainu gave the picture one more frustrated look before setting up the plans for this Anti-Heartless force. The mysterious ice user could come later, Fujitora was right that this new plague needed to be dealt with, especially if pirates got involved.

So many things were being put in motion at this point, a storm forming in the distance, waiting for the trigger to release its rage. Toshiro had a bad feeling rising in his gut, but for once he felt he was welcomed somewhere again, and he ignored it. He had finally taken Nami and Robin's advice, had begun to let go of the chains binding him to be a Captain of Soul Society, to just enjoy himself.

It felt great.

It was finally a peaceful day, and they took advantage. Little Daniel was in Nami's lap, learning everything he could from the navigator and her maps, his photographic memory serving him well and making her proud, Bepo nearby as Daniel's best friend and comfort. Thursday still seemed to avoid Toshiro, but was learning a new recipe from a more than willing teacher Sanji, Law back on the Sunny and casting glares at the cook as if daring him to try anything. Luffy was still trying to out-fish Hyorinmaru, who had not yet returned, with Usopp and Chopper keeping him company and trying to help. Book, Shachi and Penguin were marveling at something Franky made, though when the group approached Toshiro he became a bit worried. Zoro was sleeping, Robin was reading, Jimbei and Brook were having a calm chat with their Nobody companion until Franky and company approached them.

"Hey, when Maru comes back, can you ask him to go small?" Shachi asked the small figure.

"…why?" Ignoring the nickname that was now stuck for his dragon, Toshiro worried what they were hiding behind their backs.

"Franky made some super cool stuff for him." Book responded with a beaming grin.

Toshiro only worried more.

"I don't think a dragon made of shadow and ice would particularly like being armored." Law spoke up, his seat giving him a clear view of their secret.

"Papa, don't ruin the surprise!" Book pouted at the Captain. Law just shrugged with a mischievous smirk.

"I'd have to agree with Trafalgar, Hyorinmaru wouldn't be too fond of armor when his ice already serves that purpose." Toshiro spoke up, relieved now that he knew what they were up to. He did, however, start wondering what his partner would look like in shiny medieval armor.

"But these are SUPER cool!" Franky displayed his creation proudly since the surprise was ruined. Each of the four people held a piece of the bright steel set of armor, and while it did look impressive, Toshiro still had doubts his dragon would agree to wear it. "There's a light for cave exploring, some extendable saber teeth for a bigger bite, steel claws, retractable spines so he can roll his enemies over, and-"

"That's… all really cool, but Hyorinmaru doesn't really… need it." The Nobody felt bad refusing it, as it was impressive, but there were little the attachments added to the powerful creature, other than making his smaller form easier to fight in… which perhaps was the intention, though Hyorinmaru would only see it as a hindrance to becoming his larger form.

"He'd need it in a cave." Franky argued with a proud grin, saying aloud the theory Toshiro had reached on his own. "He might be big and scary in the ocean but what if he gets stuck in a small tunnel?"

"Um... well, I suppose see what he thinks." Though still skeptical, the Nobody consented to letting them try to armor his Heartless. He only hoped the dragon didn't try to freeze them… he was a lot easier to offend in his current state.

He had stated it in such a way because he could sense the dragon returning, a disturbance in the waves letting everyone else know this as well. A moment later, the shadow black head of the Heartless rose above the water, an enormous creature clasped in his jaws, nearly as big as the dragon himself. The Sea King was quite the sight, covered in scars from no doubt defending itself against the Heartless. Hyorinmaru looked untouched, but it was likely he'd already recovered any wounds with the water around him.

" **They are most definitely not easy prey**." Hyorinmaru grumbled as he approached the ship to gaping expressions.

"Well of course not, they're kings for a reason!" Chopper replied without translating for the others, though they could guess what he was responding to. "Even an adolescent like that can destroy warships!"

" **Adolescent?** " The Heartless was understandably surprised that his catch was not an adult. " **I did not anticipate the species to be larger than me.** "

"Yo, Chopper, what's he saying?" Luffy demanded, unable to interpret the growls. Chopper quickly translated and Luffy let out a laugh. "Yeah, you're not the biggest here, Shishishi!"

Hyorinmaru bared his teeth a little more, not amused, and shifted his catch in his mouth to begin devouring the sea creature as a snake would eat its prey.

"Well… so much for stocking up food." Sanji said with a sigh while the three who had been fishing all shouted in surprise and annoyance.

"I am not used to him being so spiteful." Toshiro admitted with a frown.

Hyorinmaru surprised them again as he stopped about halfway down the creature's body and crushed his jaws, effectively biting the body in half. A large wing rose from the water and lifted the dissected body up towards the ship. It seemed he was just messing with them, still allowing them to share in his catch.

"That's better." The Nobody said with a slight grin.

The dragon looked pleased.

Both crews ate well that day, though naturally Luffy devoured the most, but with a sea dragon that could catch a Sea King for them they weren't too concerned. Hyorinmaru didn't mind the new role, as picking fights with the monsters gave him something to sharpen his skills against. Having had his share, the Heartless became small once more and returned to his master's side, the four engineers all giving Toshiro side glances to remind him of their earlier question. He shot glares back at them, silently telling them to do it.

Having no problem with this, Franky approached as boldly as he always did, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yo, little Maru, me and the boys made something for ya!"

Hyorinmaru tilted his head, curious enough to want to know what that might be, a piece of watermelon protruding from his mouth as he partook in dessert, a treat for catching the sea monster.

"Come over here, we'll get it set up!" Franky beckoned the Heartless over to where Shachi, Penguin and Book were waiting eagerly.

Now a little on guard, Hyorinmaru looked to his master. Toshiro simply nodded back that it was okay and with a huff the dragon followed the self-made cyborg.

The four of them together had little problem outfitting the small dragon in their armor. With a big 'ta-da' they let Hyorinmaru observe his new 'outfit' while some of the others looked over curiously.

As expected, he didn't much like it, lifting a forewing up to try and push the head-piece off with a growl.

"Aw, but you look so cool Hyorinmaru!" Dextra pointed out before turning with pleading eyes to the four who made it. "Can I have some armor?"

"Ah, well, birds don't really do well in heavy armor." Penguin replied with a nervous scratch of his head.

"But he got some!"

"Yeah, but… he's made of ice, he's already heavy, so he can probably fly just fine."

"Plus he's a dragon…" Shachi added in.

The eagle user sent them her best angry pout.

There was the sound of metal hitting the grassy deck and they turned to see that, having been unsuccessful with clawing it off, Hyorinmaru had moved into the shadows to get out of the armor, popping back up just beside it.

" **I don't much appreciate being dressed like a pet.** " The dragon grumbled, turning away to groom himself with a grumpy glare.

"But it's got all this cool stuff you can use if you're stuck in a small place." Book tried to persuade the creature – Toshiro had told them what he said.

" **I will just make it bigger.** " The dragon snorted, unimpressed.

"What about that mountain we were just at? If you had gotten bigger, wouldn't you have crushed everyone?"

Hyorinmaru paused in fixing up the ice on his wing to look at the child with an indignant look, angrier that he had a point more than anything else.

" **I still don't need such ridiculous contraptions to help me fight**." He puffed out some chilly air, at this point refusing just to keep his pride.

As the others tried to convince Hyorinmaru to give the armor a chance, as well as figure out what to do for Dextra as she continued to ask for a set of her own, Law shook his head and decided to approach Toshiro. Jimbei had moved away to admire the dragon's armor, part of the convincing group, but Brook was still there, the two dead spirits managing to get along somewhat well when the skeleton wasn't cracking jokes.

"Hitsugaya." Law called out, grabbing the Nobody's attention again. "I'm going to need your help with something next time the Heartless show up… I need to start figuring out how to fix you."

Teal eyes lighting up in determination, Toshiro nodded.


	38. A Quick Race

Several days of peaceful silence gave the crews some time to recover and restock. Hyorinmaru was a very helpful fisher-dragon, choosing to remain in his large form gliding through the water when not sleeping in his master's shadow. Toshiro himself had been getting much better rest with the help of the music box, which in turn put him in a better mood, the charm still around his neck never losing its azure tone. The lack of nightmares was helping him to feel more relaxed around the two crews, and while the emotion was still foreign to him, it was easier for him to laugh. He felt… so free. Dextra was healing up nicely between the two doctor's and Toshiro's healing Kido, only light scarring remaining, though she held no hostility to the one who put them there, making sure he knew that as well.

A bird came by and dropped a newspaper and a letter for Thursday – who quickly left with it - tasked with handing the former out to anyone and everyone, pirates included. The Straw Hats enjoyed getting them, they liked looking through the bounties, seeing who they recognized and if anyone's went up. Toshiro went ahead and took a look as well, taking notice that everyone in the Straw Hats – besides Chopper, the poor reindeer – had quite the number of zeroes on their bounties. He was particularly shocked by Luffy's.

"I didn't know you were one of the Pirate Emperors." He said to the rubber man. "One and a half billion is quite a lot."

"Yeah, isn't it great!" Luffy just grinned, proud of himself. He didn't seem to care about the title at all, just pleased with the numbers.

Narrowing his eyes a bit, Toshiro tried to figure out how someone like this could be considered so dangerous. In comparison, Law, who was much more intimidating of a figure, had only a third of Luffy's bounty. His shock returned as he spotted one for Dextra as well… her picture was that of her 'other' self, the deadly harpy that only obeyed orders and left the child completely behind. He saw Law give it one glance before tearing it apart with a scowl. No one commented, though Dextra herself looked a little put out, whether from the bounty or having it torn up he couldn't tell.

"Hey, Snowy, look at yours!" Luffy grabbed the paper from an irritated Nami.

"M-mine?" Toshiro paled a bit; he wasn't supposed to be making himself noticeable, he would be gone from this world soon enough, but now he had a permanent mark on the place. "Oh no…"

It was at sixty million, which while low compared to everyone but Chopper – even Dextra's was higher at one-hundred and fifty million – was still a pretty big number, big enough for people to want to recognize and chase after him. And they could easily recognize him, his distinctive hair and eyes plain for the world to see, even his name in bold print making it easy for anyone to know him. That was bad. Really bad. In the fine print it even stated he was with the Heart Pirates as a 'new member'. Nothing about Hyorinmaru seemed to be mentioned, even as its own poster, so there was that hope, but Toshiro was definitely not happy.

"I guess Fujitora couldn't really keep you a secret, someone would notice you eventually." Law mused aloud as he glanced at the poster. "Congratulations, you're an official pirate now."

"That's not a good thing!" The Nobody snapped. "I was supposed to disappear once I got this situation fixed!"

"You still can, you'll just become a rumor." The surgeon responded with a shrug, not as worried.

Allowing the calm of being a Nobody to push aside his concern, Hitsugaya tried to figure out how to go about his mission without stirring up any more trouble. He couldn't interfere in fights between them and Marines if he wanted to avoid more unwanted attention. It was best he tried to lay low from now on, only stepping in if the Heartless became too big of a problem. Perhaps he had been too open in his negotiations with the Marines… but that was the only way to get his word across in a believable manner. There was too much to do, to go back to, he couldn't get caught up in pirate spats now. Even if he stopped being a Soul Reaper, he had so much to learn and see… time to go back to the shadows, become unknown again.

"Oh, back again, eh!?" Usopp's shout pulled his attention away from his thoughts to look out at sea. Two more of the living Heartless ships were heading their way at startling speed. "We destroyed more of ya then this last time!"

"There won't be any destroying this time." Law argued, stepping over to the side of the ship.

"Aw, why not?" Luffy pouted, as he had wanted to take part this time, Nami holding him back before out of concern for him getting drowned since these ships had a habit of diving.

"I need test subjects for figuring out how to fix Hitsugaya." The surgeon explained calmly. "The ship is unnecessary, but I'd like to take the crews captive."

"How are you going to do that, Captain? They can go in the shadows." Shachi asked.

"Not if another Heartless denies them passage." Toshiro added in this time, Hyorinmaru on his shoulders again, teeth bared. "Plus some of my Kido can no doubt hold them in place. We'll find out."

"What is the plan then?" Jimbei questioned, wishing to be of use.

"They'll no doubt try to take a bite at our ships once they get to us, so we'll need to keep them still once they're close enough to board." Law stated.

"Shall we do that, then, Sir dragon?" The fishman asked of the Heartless.

Hyorinmaru jumped to the larger figure's shoulders to show he agreed, and they both dove into the ocean, the water gaining a black hue as the dragon grew to his natural size, waiting under the ships with Jimbei for the right moment.

"You guys have fun catching them." Seeing as he couldn't kill anything, Zoro chose to lay back down and return to his nap, to some of his crew members' dismay. Law just ignored him and focused on the plan.

"Once they're in range, Hitsugaya should be able to bind them all, where we'll just have to move them over to my ship."

"Oh, I might have something that can help." Usopp dug through his seed bag for the particular ammo he wanted.

The ships were almost upon them, the Heartless on board jumping around with taunts.

"What idiots." Sanji could only sigh at the ridiculous monsters.

The ship further in front started to lift itself up in a familiar pattern. That essentially signaled its doom, the water churning as Hyorinmaru moved through the water underneath it. Black ice rose from the water, trapping the ship in place with the jaws forced open, leaving it vulnerable. None of the spikes pierced through, leaving the ship to float in place, growling angrily. Toshiro Flash Stepped over to it and set about to his part of the plan, using the binding spell Horin to trap the groups in magical ropes, sticking them together until he had them all. Some got a few scratches on him in the struggle, but those were easily ignored.

Meanwhile, Jimbei held back the other one in a spiral of water, making sure it couldn't get out of the currents while Usopp took aim. The seeds flew and hit their target, the sniper deadly accurate even with unconventional projectiles. Vines grew quickly, latching onto anything moving, living ropes that entangled the Heartless crew, catching even the ones that tried to jump. The plan went off without a hitch.

"Perfect." Law smirked, pleased. Now he had some Heartless to work with. Not only was this necessary for his deal with Toshiro, but it would provide valuable information on the creatures for future encounters.

Meanwhile, Thursday was reading a letter that had been addressed to her that had come with that day's mail, hiding away somewhere in the submarine. It was from Tebliel… the Human-Mink was concerned for her, and her siblings, having seen what Hyorinmaru could do and the continuing threat of the Heartless hunting down their ships. She wanted to try and help them, to get them away from such a dangerous target as Toshiro, who would only bring more destruction in his wake. Thursday was hesitant, knowing their guest was just an unfortunate victim… but she couldn't deny that his appearance had brought a powerful force behind him that had caused the death of someone she dearly cared for. She had said she didn't blame him… but could she risk another of her precious siblings, these other orphans she grew up with, trying to help the Nobody? There were Heartless on their ship now for crying out loud!

The doubt was only growing deeper.

Her Papa basically vanished after the successful capture, hard at his 'work' and demanding he not be bothered. Toshiro was the only exception since he was directly affected by the results and also had the most knowledge on the Heartless. The Nobody wasn't happy with it, that's for sure, but did what he could.

He was sitting on a nearby seat as Law went through another Heartless, the Room up to hopefully prevent them vanishing.

"The only real difference between you and them seems to be how you exist." Law spoke aloud as he worked. "You both still bleed and have no real hearts, but this one is made of shadow itself and you might as well be a zombie."

"Thanks." Hitsugaya grumbled. "And I know this already. We have similar creatures in my world, the difference with them being they are spirits. The Heartless do possess a heart, despite their name, but it's only the darkness part of one, that's why it seeks out more hearts of the light."

"Yes, but it definitely makes it hard to actually study them." Law grumbled. "The moment I try to look beneath the surface it's like they pop, and everything vanishes, even the heart when I try to hold onto it."

"In other words the body is just a barrier to a spirit of darkness. Break the barrier and it spreads out, free."

"It would seem so… I need to figure out a method to work with the spiritual rather than just physical. I've never tried before since I don't usually work with the dead."

"And even then, Hyorinmaru and I have our own set of problems."

The frown on the doctor's face was deepening with each obstacle presented to him. He'd been excited for the challenge, but trying to dissect smoke was exactly as it sounded, pointless and impossible. He had to go deeper, figure out if there was anything he could grasp onto, anything he could manipulate with his Room. Perhaps a way to bind the 'soul' inside to the body, so it couldn't disperse like a gas? Perhaps even attach whatever was solid about the body over the heart so it couldn't pop into wherever they all went. It was going to take some very technical thinking, which meant understanding more about the creature's physiology.

"If I took a piece off of Hyorinmaru, it would vanish, wouldn't it?" He asked over his shoulder to the Nobody.

"It seems that way, and he can just regenerate it back since he's ice." Toshiro answered.

"May I?"

Naturally the Nobody was skeptical, but called for his Heartless, the dragon gliding easily over to the table Law was using. He sniffed at the squirming Heartless trapped there before baring his fangs as it tried to move into an attack. The Heartless did not fear or despair, they could only attack. Hyorinmaru was a special case, which is why Law wanted to study him where he could to see any differences. The dragon gave a growl of warning to the man, making him aware that he, too, would attack if provoked, before holding out his wing. Making sure to focus his ability, Law took off a small chunk from one of the tips of the wing, letting it fall into his hand. Surprisingly, it did not disperse into shadow or melt.

"Interesting, perhaps my Room can still keep a Heartless solidified." He mused aloud, examining the piece of black ice. "To an extent, once I get near the heart it all falls apart. Hyorinmaru does seem to otherwise have the same composition as the other Heartless, it's simply shaped into an ice-like form, no doubt still utilizing his ability over the element."

"He is able to vanish into the shadows, it's likely he loses any form in that state." Toshiro added on, curious now.

' ** _Perhaps there is some secret to be learned with such an ability?_** ' The dragon spoke only to his master, since Law wouldn't be able to understand the growls anyway. ' ** _I am able to hold my form and spirit even when dispersed in shadow._** '

"Trafalgar, it might help to see if you can still grab at a Heartless in its shadow state with your ability." Toshiro explained for the surgeon.

"Oh?" Law looked intrigued.

"They can retain their self even when they go into shadow, there must be something to that, it might help."

As Hyorinmaru was not being forced to remain whole by the Room, he could slip himself into Law's shadow, yellow eyes looking up at the tense doctor from within.

"You basically no longer exist within the Room, though." Law looked skeptical.

"Your shadow does, therefore so does he."

"Shadows are just absence of light, blocked by another form, they're not physical. I've only ever been able to manipulate what is physical."

"Light is radiation, it is still a physical state, if far tinier than the atoms that make up our own bodies. Besides, the darkness of the Heartless does create a physical form… there must be SOMETHING physical there, even in the shadows."

Law went into thought again while Toshiro looked on with hope in his eyes. It was true Law's powers basically manipulated the molecular level to achieve what he wanted. Cutting someone apart without killing them or letting them bleed, removing a heart far from a person while they remained breathing, he'd even learned to manipulate radiation in a few attacks to cause more permanent harm, so Toshiro's ideas of messing with the radioactive light elements might not be impossible. However, shadow was the absence of light, meaning that the physical radiation was missing… so what took its place?

"I'll need time to think about this before I try anything on your dragon." Law finally stated, Hyorinmaru responding to the words by removing himself from the doctor's shadow and returning to his master. "I need to figure out what it is I'm targeting first. I might take another look at the samples of the Stigma I had as well, see what the source of the spores is."

"Alright, let me know if you figure out anything." Toshiro responded, standing and taking his leave. "I think we'll be landing soon as well."

"Jean Bart has already agreed to take care of things." The surgeon waved his hand to show he didn't want to be further distracted and that the information was unimportant. With a shrug, the Nobody and his Heartless let him be, returning to the surface.

"Anything?" A curious Dextra asked as he emerged, sitting on the sub's railing.

"Maybe… we need more time to look into it."

"Papa's the best, he'll figure it out." She stated with utmost confidence.

Toshiro couldn't help a small grin; her loyalty and respect for the surgeon was admirable, especially considering what she had told him not too long ago when they listened to the music box.

"If the next island isn't a Summer one, perhaps we can take a look around?"

"Sure." The eagle girl beamed, happy he was asking to come along instead of her and her siblings having to drag him onto land. He already had a Wanted poster, it was pointless to hide away now, and she was eager to keep him moving on this path towards a more relaxed version of himself. The music box had been a huge help, all she wanted to do was make sure he got that final push. Her adopted father might fix his physical condition, but he had more problems than that, and she knew better than anyone that fixing the inner problems would help a lot more.

"Oh, hey, can I race Hyorinmaru now? Before we get to the island?" She continued, jumping onto her feet excitedly. When Toshiro gave her a confused look she pouted. "Every time I asked he was busy; can I race him now?"

The Nobody looked to his shoulder, seeing what his dragon wished to do, as it was ultimately his choice as the potential racer. He wasn't eating or fishing this time, so no excuses. Hyorinmaru looked back at him for a moment before snorting.

"He says he's fine with it, but you'll probably lose." Toshiro translated.

"We'll see about that!" Dextra rose to the challenge eagerly.

' ** _Can we fly together?_** ' The dragon asked of his master before he went to join Dextra – now in full eagle form – at the edge of the boat.

"Together? She just wants to race you, though, won't I slow you down?" The Nobody replied, confused.

' ** _Hardly. It has been some time since we flew together, and without Bankai this is the closest we have._** '

"Are you going to fly with us?" Dextra turned back to them with a grin, having only heard part of the conversation. Some of the other Heart Pirates had gathered around, curious about what was going on, and a few of the Straw Hats observed from the Sunny. "Come on!"

"… Sure." Toshiro finally agreed, feeling the same way as Hyorinmaru. It wouldn't quite be flying with his own wings, but enjoying a casual – if racing – flight through the air and not having to be in battle might be enjoyable.

Overjoyed, Hyorinmaru jumped to the ground and began to enlarge, the Heart Pirates having to hurry to the edge as the dragon's body took over the deck, just big enough for Toshiro to jump onto his back and ride on with ease, but not full size.

"To that outcrop and back!" Dextra called over, gesturing to the grouping of rocks jutting up from the water off on the horizon. It was far enough to be a challenge but still within sight of the two ships.

" **Easy!** " The dragon roared his challenge, lifting a foot up onto the railing and spreading his wings.

"What are they doing?" Nami asked her companions as she came out to the loud sounds.

"Racing!" Chopper answered excitedly.

"Go dragon! Go Dextra!" Luffy cheered happily for both racers, not really caring who won and just excited to watch them fly.

"Go!" The eagle shouted, launching off the railing with ease. Her smaller form was easier to get going, giving her an immediate head start while Hyorinmaru took off into the air. Toshiro griped tightly to the icy body of his partner as the dragon picked up speed, large wings bringing him up to speed with relative ease, matching Dextra's pace as she remained ahead for now.

The wind rushed past them, the water beneath them glittering in the sun as they sped over its surface. Dextra's feathers ruffled in the breeze as she flapped and flapped, a rush in her veins that made her laugh excitedly. She could hear the dragon's wing beats behind her, the force of them starting to let him catch up, the sleek black body moving through the sky with surprising agility.

If one looked hard enough, the black shadows of the Heartless had gained a blue hue, seeming to brighten.

Hyorinmaru was enjoying the race. Sure, he wanted to win, but feeling the wind rush past him, brushing over his icy scales, his master at his side, for just a moment he didn't feel like a Heartless. He gave a mighty beat of his wings, his head reaching past the eagle child, moving himself up into the air so his shadow passed over her as he took lead. As they passed, Dextra saw a smile on Toshiro's face.

He was finally enjoying something.

Just like his dragon, Toshiro had never felt better, the pendant around his neck almost a light blue, though it went unnoticed. He was laughing, a truly joyful laugh. Never had he took notice to the rush of flying, the feeling of pure freedom to go where he pleased, as he only ever had his wings in battle. For once he was flying just to fly, and it was amazing. Hyorinmaru let out a joyful roar, an icy mist shooting from his mouth and dispersing in the air. Dextra was not affected, being below them, and was rushing to catch up to the beast, though Toshiro did get a bit of frost in his face. It didn't bother him though, rather it was refreshing, and he couldn't help but laugh at his dragon.

They reached the outcrop. Here Dextra pulled ahead again, her small frame able to turn much quicker around a rocky pillar while Hyorinmaru's large body had to go around the whole outcrop. The momentum of the turn and another huge flap of his wings was quickly bringing him back behind the eagle, however, and Dextra was really having to put in some effort to stay ahead. Hyorinmaru went below this time, the tips of his wings skimming across the top of the water as he basically glided past her, ice swirling through the water at his touch. They approached the ships, and with a single flap of his wings, the black dragon shot up over them, continuing to fly even as Dextra came to a stop on the Sunny's turf, panting but rushing with adrenaline. She had only been seconds behind the dragon.

"That was absolutely SUPER!" Franky cheered, striking his favorite pose with his arms up together, the big star easy to see.

"It really was! I kept pace with a dragon!" Returning to her human self, hair in a wind-strewn mess and face glowing with excitement, Dextra agreed with the cyborg.

"But you lost." Her twin pointed out.

"I kept UP. With a DRAGON!" She restated, hugging Book and finding this outcome to be completely okay with her. She was as fast as a real dragon, if a few seconds slower, and definitely more agile. Sure for a straight stretch she would lose, but she had better mobility and she counted that as a plus.

There was another roar and they all turned back to Hyorinmaru, the dragon spinning through the air as he continued to fly around the ships at high speed, his master holding on tightly but enjoying it just as much. Everyone watched the pair with grins, the excited energy contagious. At one point the Heartless even took a dive into the water, shooting back up in a spray of dark blue snow and looking powerful and majestic with his wings spread wide, his rider sitting proud.

Once the two finally got tired, they returned to the Sunny, the dragon satisfied and hungry and his master bright-eyed and stress-free, natural spikes of hair only slightly more ruffled than it usually looked. The pirates all cheered and gave encouragement to the two racers, a few asking if Hyorinmaru would let them fly, to which the dragon easily refused. This didn't damper the mood one bit, and they all ate well with Sanji's cooking.

It was hard for him to admit, but Toshiro felt like he belonged for once. That this was the only place he could act as he did and not receive scrutiny from his peers.

A place to be free.

"I guess Sora was right, pirates aren't too bad." He chuckled to himself.


	39. No More Music

The island came into view, a nice bustling city scape, very unlike the last island they had been at. The people were surprisingly friendly, welcoming them as they docked beside civilian ships, pitching their sales from their market booths as they would any other passing stranger. Sanji, Thursday and Usopp went shopping around in a group together, looking for supplies and the like. Robin and Franky went off to just stroll around while the rest of their crew hung out on the Sunny for a few moments longer, save for Luffy who ran off on his own the moment somebody wasn't looking, leaving Nami to go run off and find him. Jean Bart led a few of his fellow crew on their own shopping run while others went to explore, Bepo taking Daniel to go ask about the log pose and other such things, the smallest child perched happily on the bear's shoulders as they walked.

As promised, Toshiro went with Dextra to explore the island, Chopper deciding to follow along and leave Zoro on the ship to sleep, Brook taking watch. People gave the reindeer some odd stares, mostly because he walked next to and chatted happily with a small black dragon, a sight people had never seen before. Hyorinmaru cared little for the stares, more interested in the watermelon treats Chopper would share with him. These treats had earned the reindeer huge favor with Hyorinmaru, as well as being able to talk freely between one another without Toshiro having to be the middle man.

"So what are you going to do once Papa fixes you?" Dextra asked her companion, curious.

"Well… I'll probably have to figure out how to get home." Toshiro responded with a sigh. He still had his Soul Pager tucked away, so should he so choose he could turn the phone back on and contact either Sora or the Soul Society directly and tell them where he was. Getting off this world wasn't the biggest problem.

It was what he would do after he returned.

He hadn't thought about it much since his conversation with Nami and Robin, but he knew his actions would have heavy consequences. He had to be prepared for the worst, be prepared to exile himself from the Soul Society if he had to. He trusted Sora and the others, they treated him as the Straw Hats treated each other. His home, however, was not so lenient. This entire world had been put in danger because of him, he would have to face the consequences, even if this world was able to take care of itself. The Central Forty-Six would have rather let the world perish in darkness than let him spill as many secrets as he had… but he could not sit by and allow that.

"Maybe you should start practicing those portals." The eagle girl offered, referring to when he had mentioned the dark portal he came through to get here in the first place.

"I wouldn't be able to use them once I'm back to normal." He stated, shaking his head. "Someone I knew had gone through a similar transition, losing the ability when he came back to the light."

"Was he like you?"

"No, he wasn't a Nobody, he just fell to darkness. For a while he used it to help me and the others, but once he came fully back into the light, his ties to the dark were finally severed, and he couldn't use those powers anymore."

"Oh… I suppose he could have already found you if he could then."

"Probably…" Toshiro chose not to mention the Nobody that he did know who could still use the dark portals and had yet to find him. It wasn't so much having the ability that would help, you still had to know where to go, and perhaps Demyx had already been returned to normal and also lost the ability. Or, as normal as he could without his other half.

"What about your friends? How do they get around worlds?"

"A ship, one that can go through space."

"Oh wow, I bet that's amazing!"

"Sometimes… even there the Heartless like to get in the way. I suppose now that I think about it I shouldn't have been surprised they could become sea vessels, since they plague ships in space as well."

"They really do get everywhere…"

"Darkness exists everywhere, shadows of the light. I doubt they will ever truly go away…"

Dextra went quiet for a moment, not sure how to respond to that. The Heartless had already done a number on the people of this world, what would they do if they never went away? Just accept their presence as fact and adapt? She could only hope, though she was fairly certain the dark creatures could never get to the point where they could destroy the world. There were too many powerful humans who would stop them.

"So you'll always have to fight with the darkness?" She finally asked.

"The creatures aren't so bad; I've been doing that most of my life anyway." Toshiro said with a slight shrug, looking away from the clean shops to focus back on the conversation.

"It's just that darkness inside that's the problem then."

"Yeah…" His teal gaze turned to the ground as he spoke, uncomfortable now. Though it had gotten much better after finding the music box and having Hyorinmaru with him, the darkness still attempted to claw at him, trying to drag him down, causing him a small but constant anxiety in the back of his mind.

"Has the music box helped? You play it every night." Dextra paused their walk for a moment, hoping to move onto better topics. Toshiro paused as well and took out the small box they were speaking of.

"It definitely has… it seems to basically take away dreams altogether."

Dextra was about to comment that it had put everyone in better spirits recently, especially when Brook played along, when she and Toshiro both tensed, sensing something wrong.

And then the music box shattered in the Nobody's hands.

They could only stand in shock for a moment, wondering who could have possibly managed this without them catching it earlier. A few civilians passing by looked over in curiosity at the noise, some sparing sympathetic glances without fully understanding the importance of what had just happened.

In the distance, Maleficent gave a victorious sneer. Finally, after figuring out what was causing her nightmares to be held back, she was able to get to it and destroy it. His one hope that had been keeping him safe was gone now. She had been on this island for a different reason – one that had not gone so well – but could now count today as a victory. Just her luck that her target anchored on the same island, what perfect opportunity. With a malicious laugh she vanished into the shadows to watch what would happen next from a safe distance. After all, it wasn't so much that the nightmares had just vanished…

As the box fell, the crystal fairy fell with it, shattering to the ground. The soft glow it once held suddenly turned into an absolute black. Every nightmare and hungry shadow that had tried to reach him, every evil intention, had been absorbed into the fairy instead, sucked in by the music and trapped there. But now, as the magic fell apart, all those shadows, from all those nights, shot across the ground like angry snakes. Passing civilians didn't seem to notice, but they did. There was no missing it. Dextra went pale as a sheet, understanding what this meant even before she saw his snowflake charm turn midnight black, remembering what had happened the last time. Chopper let out a shriek while Hyorinmaru roared in fury, which did cause people to stop and look their way in concern.

Toshiro himself was already deaf to the world. The moment those nightmares escaped their prison and merged into his shadow, they possessed his mind, a brutal mental wave of horror and visions that consumed his senses. If he still had a heart it would have stopped dead.

' _How could you do this, Shiro!' Momo screamed, distraught and terrified. She was bleeding… hurt… the bodies of others lay torn and mangled around her, the source of her horror. In the reflection of the blood pooling around them all he saw himself, the sword in his hand, a dead expression on his face._

 _'_ _You're a monster! Just like the rest of them!' Ichigo appeared, charging him with tears in his eyes, his friends lifeless._

 _'_ _I didn't do it!' Toshiro pleaded, but his reflection made it clear otherwise._

 _The collar around his neck only made it worse._

"Toshiro, snap out of it!" Dextra tried to approach him, her Observation Haki going haywire even though her companion was just standing there. His teal eyes were blank of any expression; he'd been completely sucked into his own mind, trapped there with no doubt horrible images. He looked dead, not moving an inch, hands still slightly held up from when he was holding the music box before it shattered. "Hey, come on!"

She shook his shoulders, hoping to bring him back to his senses. Hyorinmaru dove into his master's shadow, causing others to gasp in shock. There was a bit of a crowd now, wondering why the child was shaking her friend with such a terrified expression. Spotting this crowd, Dextra realized she needed to act fast.

But she wasn't quite fast enough. Before she could demand they all run, the darkness made its appearance. As Toshiro began to succumb to the nightmares, the shadows started to rise off his body, pitch black ice spreading across the ground. She backed away quickly before it caught her, putting a shocked stiff Chopper onto her back as well before morphing her wings and lifting into the air. Now people were frightened, shouting and panicking as they hurried away from the spreading ice quickly.

"Toshiro!" Dextra shouted, but to no avail. Her words could not reach him.

 _Maleficent stood behind him, laughing gleefully at the carnage he caused, his beloved Hyorinmaru laying obedient at her feet. The yellow eyes of the Heartless looked to his master with no emotion, not even recognizing him anymore. The bond was severed. He could feel the tears stinging at his face._

 _Xemnas approached, a sneer on his face as he looked to the collar around the distraught Nobody's neck._

 _'_ _You belong to me now, simply a tool to reach Kingdom Hearts.' He stated._

 _'_ _I refuse!' Toshiro shouted, furious. He would not be this man's puppet!_

 _'_ _I'm afraid it's too late to hold onto such pitiful emotions.' The silver-haired man gestured behind the child._

 _Fear in his soul, Toshiro turned, once more witness to the corpses of his dear friends. Momo still breathed, but barely, and the betrayal and fear in her eyes, directed at him, hurt more than anything._

 _'_ _I wouldn't do this!' Shutting his eyes from the scene, Toshiro fisted his hands into his hair, trying to wake up._

 _'_ _It's only a matter of time until you do. You are a Nobody.'_

 _'_ _No!'_

His hands went to his head in reality too, his inner panic starting to show on his face as he fell to his knees on the icy ground, the shadows growing larger and wrapping around him tightly. It was all familiar, and having just recovered from the wounds she got last time, Dextra chose not to try and get close again. The ice seemed to stop spreading at a certain radius, so she could at least land again, watching with concern and calling out his name along with Chopper to try and reach him.

"It's not working, what do we do?" Chopper asked, fear making his voice shake. "Hyorinmaru went to help but I don't think he's gotten through!"

Dextra didn't answer, as she herself wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't hear them, but approaching meant getting run through by shadows, and they were a lot more vicious this time. The sky was starting to darken and the air was turning bitter cold. By now the whole island would know something was up. She didn't know how to stop him.

The air, already heavy from Toshiro's Spiritual Pressure, suddenly held an intense aura that made her stiffen. Someone was not happy with the darkness on this island, someone strong.

' _Face it, you cannot handle your power.' Xemnas held Toshiro by the throat and raised him off the ground, the latter helpless in his grip. 'You have only ever caused harm with it. You were never meant to be a hero; you don't protect anyone. Your purpose is Kingdom Hearts, that is all you are. A Key._

 _'_ _So stop pretending to be human.'_

Toshiro let out a scream filled with rage and pain, trying to refuse the nightmare with everything he had. Dextra and Chopper jumped with fright at the shout, concerned, especially as the darkness coiled tighter and thrashed wildly through the air, the ice rising up in spikes… pointing at Toshiro himself.

' _I'd rather die than let you use me!_ '

Toshiro's thoughts fueled the darkness to be even more aggressive. If he could not escape the darkness, he'd take it down with him.

"Stop!" Dextra shouted, her voice cracking slightly due to her shock. A tendril lashed out and she dodged back quickly.

"Whoa there." A hand was held against her back, anticipating her to fall from jumping back so sharply. She was fine, of course, but the touch startled her, causing her to turn around rapidly. A tall figure with striking red hair stood next to her, looking intently at where Toshiro struggled with himself and his memories.

This was the strong presence she had sensed earlier.

"Shanks…" She spoke shakily, recognizing the one-armed pirate and his striking red hair, scars over one eye. "You're a… Pirate Emperor… the one who stood equal to Whitebeard without any kind of Devil Fruit."

"And the one who's not happy with whatever this is being on my island." Shanks gestured with his remaining hand to the sphere of darkness that had begun enveloping the terrified Toshiro.

Understanding just how powerful this man was, the eagle child was even more worried about her friend's safety.

"Wait, he's not himself!" Though her knees shook, she got between the pirate and the Nobody, arms stretched out as if to be an obstacle. Chopper could only watch from her back, speechless and shaking like a leaf. "That darkness is hurting him! He's being force-fed nightmares and bad visions, if I can just wake him up it will stop!"

Shanks spared the child a glance, taking in what she said, before looking back at Toshiro. Her story definitely fit, the poor child looked absolutely terrified, eyes shut tight and aura wild and unchecked.

It was when Toshiro reached for his throat again, the threat of the collar leading him to reopen old wounds unconsciously, that Shanks scowled and decided enough was enough. He came here to stop what he thought was a threat to an island he controlled, and while that still hadn't changed, he couldn't watch this.

The weight in the air suddenly grew far more intense, a powerful blast of will briefly overtaking even Toshiro's own Spiritual Pressure. The darkness dispersed due to the unfamiliar, sharp, threatening force. Toshiro himself stopped moving, eyes snapping open in shock but still unfocused. The visions faded and all that remained was instinct. The ice around him cracked as its user became unfocused, what little focus he had zeroed in on the powerful presence near him.

"Heh, other than being a little spooked you barely flinched from that." Shanks smirked a slight bit, impressed. Dextra had gasped and stumbled a bit at the powerful Conqueror's Haki he had just used, she and Chopper both having to recollect their thoughts. They weren't knocked out, but it was a heavy effect befitting someone as powerful as Red-Hair Shanks, someone who was once part of the Pirate King's crew and a Pirate Emperor.

The Ice Nobody still wasn't conscious, but he was no longer in a panic. The darkness still rose from his form, but now in tiny smoke-like wisps that couldn't try to constrict the life out of him. It's presence still held him in his mental prison, but even there he was paying attention to this new threat. It was as though he stood before the Head Captain's powerful presence, though this aura was not of flame and heat, but pure power.

"You listening yet, kid?" Shanks called out, leaning over a bit to see the other's eyes. Though wide in surprise, the teal still held a blank look, signaling he was not quite free yet. "Come on back, I'd hate to hurt you."

"H-hey, Toshiro." Dextra hoped maybe a friendly voice might reach him, though she was still a bit shaky from the Haki burst. "We're… we're here to help you, remember? It's just Maleficent trying to mess with you, you're okay."

"Maleficent?" Shanks put his hand to his chin, thinking over the name for a moment as if recognizing it. Though confused by his reaction, Dextra had to focus on her friend first. "Oh! The horned lady! So this is what she was talking about with her 'darkness' and 'power' or whatever…. Doesn't look very appealing."

The name seemed to spark something, Toshiro's teeth clenching and the darkness thickening over him. One of the ice spikes gained a sudden growth spurt and cut through one of the Nobody's arms. Thankfully a surface wound, but startling nonetheless.

"H-hey!" Shanks snapped, surprised at the self-harm.

The wound seemed to do the trick though, pain spiking through the Reaper's body and bringing him out of the inner prison, blinking for a moment before shaking his head to clear away the last of the pulls at his thoughts. The darkness faded away as it lost its hold, but he still looked shaky and frightened. No doubt he would still be hard to approach, considering he had to go to the extremes of cutting himself to snap out of it.

"You okay, kid?"

Putting a hand to the wound on his arm, Toshiro turned to the unfamiliar voice, not recognizing the red-haired figure but noticing how spooked Dextra and Chopper looked. Was that his fault? Or the stranger's? Now that he was conscious he knew where the powerful force had emanated from, cautious of what seemed to be a normal human. He didn't have the aura of a Devil Fruit… he was just that strong?

"Who are you?" He asked, cursing his shaky voice. He still needed to mentally recuperate from the visions… and after clenching his hands tightly to stop their shaking, realized that might take a bit. It had hit him hard.

"Shanks!" Luffy's cheery voice from behind made him jump and turn quickly, reflexes almost making him lash out if he didn't have enough of himself back to stop at lifting his hand up and not actually summoning his sword to him. The rubber man was sprinting happily over, apparently recognizing the red-head as an old friend and not paying attention to the ground.

He promptly slipped on the black ice, though at least avoided any of the spikes since those were pointed in towards Toshiro… seeing this, the Nobody willed them to break away.

"S-sorry." He said to the Captain as well, standing slowly and with a clear stiffness to his posture. Nami and Usopp, who had followed their Captain, noticed this about their guest and shared glances, wondering what had happened. They quickly became nervous upon spotting Shanks, however, as they did recognize him.

Shanks, however, just began laughing after Luffy fell on his ass.

"Never pay attention, do ya!?" The one-armed man jeered.

"Shut it!" Luffy snapped back, jumping to his feet with ease now that the ice was gone and letting out a snort like an angry pig wanting to charge.

"And you call yourself a pirate, ha!"

While the Emperor continued to jeer at an irritated Luffy, Dextra hurried to Toshiro's side, both to check on him and get some distance from the powerful man.

"Are you okay?" She asked, though she could guess the answer, Chopper going into his 'human' form to look at the new wound.

Toshiro chose not to answer, fists clenched tight and gaze to the ground. What could he even say? Among all the bodies in his vision, she and a few other pirates had been there. The ones that have been doing their best to help him feel welcome and free, killed by his hand… the echo of 'monster' still haunted his thoughts. He only ever got people hurt, for reasons beyond his control. The memory of the collar made his neck itch.

He couldn't help but wonder if the visions were right. Maybe there was no point in pretending to be human if his purpose was just Kingdom Hearts. Every time he tried… people were harmed.

' ** _And yet you still have friends._** ' Hyorinmaru reminded, once more able to speak with his master with the darkness out of his way. He had been trapped there as well… and the feeling of being Maleficent's pet made his icy scales rattle with disgust. ' ** _We should not give up yet._** '

' _I just don't want these nightmares to become reality… that would be easier to do if I stayed away._ ' Toshiro responded quietly as he let Chopper wrap his arm up in a small bandage.

' ** _They won't become a reality if we don't let them win or tell us what to do. These people are strong. Sora and the others are strong. Until we mature, you need these people. I can only do so much… I am sorry._** '

' _You help plenty, Hyorinmaru… but you're right. I can't rely on just myself, and you are a part of me._ '

After a reassuring purr, the dragon went quiet, and as if on cue someone placed their hand on his head.

"Yo, you still not awake, brat?"

Still not quite recovered, Toshiro Flash Stepped a couple feet away, startled by the unfamiliar touch and tense for a counter-attack if necessary.

"Whoa, easy there." Shanks put his hand up as a sign of surrender. He didn't show it in his expression, keeping a calm and relaxed smile on his face, but he was a bit concerned by the flare he had sensed from the Nobody and the wide eyed look on the smaller figure, the look of someone ready to fight for his life. "Luffy says you're traveling with them and another crew?"

"Yeah, Snowy's got some cool magic and a big strong dragon! And he's like a spirit or something."

"You made it sound so lame!" Toshiro snapped, though Luffy only grinned and gave the other a thumbs up.

"I don't see a dragon." Shanks looked around, a hand over his eyes to block the sun as he turned to the sky as well.

"He stays in Snowy's shadow!" Luffy explained excitedly.

"Eh!? That's ridiculous!"

"L-Luffy…" Dextra's small voice caught the rubber man's attention, who looked at her curiously. "Do you… are you… friends… with Red-Hair Shanks?"

"Oh yeah I've known him since I was a kid, Shishishi!"

"More like his dumb ass followed me around like a fan boy." Shanks clarified with a snicker.

"Did not! I told you I planned on kicking your ass!"

"Ha! You're a hundred years too early for that, brat!"

"But Luffy, he's a Pirate Emperor." Dextra couldn't quite wrap her head around it. Nami and Usopp didn't seem quite as surprised – they had heard stories about him from Luffy – but still seemed nervous being on the same island as such a powerful pirate, friends with their Captain or not. Part of that concern was Luffy's continuous attempts to provoke the older man into a fight.

' _That explains why his Spirit Energy is so high…_ ' Toshiro thought to himself, looking at the man in a new light and remembering the burst of power he had sensed that had obliterated the nightmares.

"How about you kids come with me and tell me all about what's going on?" Shanks offered to the gathered group. "Let's give your friend a chance to calm down and relax, yeah?"

"G-go with you?" Usopp looked surprised.

"Yeah, why not!? And bring the rest of your crews, too!" The Emperor answered cheerfully. "Was just enjoying a couple rounds in the bar nearby before this guy made a fuss, ha!"

"It… wasn't intentional." Toshiro responded as Shanks motioned to him for causing the trouble.

"Don't worry about it, no one got hurt, and that's the important thing." The red-haired pirate shrugged casually before pivoting and walking away. "Now come on, friends of Luffy's are fine in my book, drinks on me!"

"Sounds good to me." Nami gave a mischievous grin, looking forward to a Pirate Emperor's generosity.

"I'll, uh, just go get everybody." Usopp spoke with a nervous laugh before quickly excusing himself and taking off.

As the others followed the powerful man, Toshiro took a moment to look at his hands before following. They still shook slightly, and he was sure if he possessed a heart it would still be beating loudly in his chest. The relaxed atmosphere Shanks kept was helpful… but it would take more than that before he was calm again, and he wondered if he could even get to that point. The darkness was clawing at his control more aggressively than before, and only Hyorinmaru's presence muted its attempts, helping him ignore it a bit easier. It wasn't going to be easy being on edge like this from now on… he needed to watch his steps carefully.

Taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts and take a little more control, Toshiro caught up to and followed the pirates.


	40. An Interesting Bar Night

The bar was a very nice, large place. Several crew members under Shanks, the Red Hair Pirates, were there as well, recognizing Luffy and greeting him like old friends. Toshiro tried to find a corner to hide himself away in and work on calming himself down, but Shanks himself was having none of that, Dextra sticking close by like a good friend would if still a little star struck and nervous. Her twin came to join her as he and some other Heart Pirates joined them and a few more Straw Hats at the meeting place. There was a lot of tension at first, but like the Straw Hats, the Red Hair Pirates kept a peaceful, cheerful atmosphere, and before long it was as if they were all great friends.

"Oh! He does come out of your shadow!" Shanks exclaimed, baffled as Hyorinmaru rose from the darkness onto his master's shoulder in a protective stance. "How tiny though, is he a baby?"

Hyorinmaru bared his teeth and ruffled his scales angrily at the comment, letting out an icy hiss that made Shanks quickly pull away the hand he'd been reaching out with to pet him.

"He can change his size, he's much older than anyone here." His master corrected the man. "This is just easier for him to maintain when not in combat or when he is indoors."

"He can get bigger than the ships in his full size." Book added on excitedly, a little more on the happy side for getting to chat with such a powerful figure compared to his more reserved twin sister. "He fishes Sea Kings for us."

"Wow, now that's some good eating." Shanks nodded approvingly, as if he was congratulating the achievements of his own kids. There was already a bit of color on his cheeks, as he'd had several mugs of beer already, so Toshiro couldn't tell if this was him being drunk or normal. He knew someone similar among his fellow Captains, who loved to drink and play around but could sober up in moments if it came to it, so it was never clear if it was the alcohol talking or just the man being bored. "Where'd you find something like him, Snowy?"

"It's Hitsugaya Toshiro." The Nobody huffed, irritated with the name. "And he's my other half."

"Huh, to each their own."

"No! He's literally part of me!"

"Ohhh." Shanks clearly still didn't get it, so Toshiro gave him the basics on Soul Reapers, Heartless and Nobodies as best he could, the one-armed man listening intently as he continued to drink. When told the Heartless were quickly becoming a problem on this world, he definitely kept close attention to what Toshiro explained, as it was his duty as a Captain to be aware of such threats. "Interesting… well, I hope you're able to get that problem fixed, those fits of yours can't be healthy for you. And rest assured any Heartless popping up around me is going to regret it, yours being an exception of course."

"That's good to hear." Toshiro nodded, glad the man believed him with a simplified explanation. He recalled something he heard back when Shanks had first arrived. "By the way… you recognized the name Maleficent… how's that?"

"Ah, well, she showed up in here all creepy like only an hour or so before you showed up, talking about some kind of power she could give me and working together for some bigger purpose, I didn't really care for it." Shanks waved his hand as he talked about it before picking up his drink again, taking a big gulp before continuing. "Told her I liked what I had just fine and didn't need her help, we pirates do things our own way."

"I'm glad you didn't accept her offer… she more than likely would have turned you into one of her Heartless."

"HA! She can try!" He finished his drink in quick gulps before slamming the empty mug onto the table with a satisfied breath. "Told her to get off my island, didn't seem too happy with that. Hope she didn't cause your fit cause of me, kid."

"No… she's after me for a different reason." Toshiro looked away uncomfortably, not willing to share that with everyone as much as he was making sure people knew of the threat.

"Hey Toshiro, I thought you hated being called a kid." Book cut in, saving his friend the trouble of having to explain the issues he was having.

"I do, but I'm learning to deal with it since no one listens to me. I hate the nickname Luffy gave me as well." The Nobody answered.

"You kids like growing up too fast, no need to be stiffs, have fun with your youth." Shanks patted Dextra's head, who looked up at him in awe.

"But Toshiro's actually over a hundred years old."

"…Eh?" The red-head needed a moment to process that.

"Before I became like this, I was a spirit, we don't age as quickly as a living being. I'm likely the oldest person in this building." Toshiro explained.

"Pfft, no way, you're a total pipsqueak!"

"Am not!" Now definitely ruffled, the room gained a bitter chill as Toshiro scowled at the taller figure.

"Look at you, you're barely hip height!" Shanks was laughing loudly as he continued, cheeks more red than before – Toshiro could only assume he was intoxicated at this point, but was still furious. "In that case then, have a beer!"

"I refuse." Toshiro grumbled. Thanks to his Lieutenant, he had a growing disdain for any alcoholic beverages that had become a bias against them. That, and most people never bothered to ask him if he wanted any, though he was perfectly fine with this as he would have declined it.

"Aw, come on, don't be a buzzkill." Shanks jeered as he got another drink from the waitress. He pushed it towards Toshiro instead of drinking it. "You a grown up or not!?"

"I didn't say… grown up… I'm just older than you." This the Ice Nobody said through gritted teeth. The more this topic came up, the more he was being forced to admit that in comparison to his Soul Reaper comrades, he WAS a child. That didn't mean he in any way liked it, however.

"An old brat then!" Shanks laughed as Toshiro gave his fiercest scowl. Meanwhile, Hyorinmaru was examining the beer, taking it upon himself to drink instead.

"Hyorinmaru!" Toshiro exclaimed, surprised.

' ** _Just because you hate it doesn't mean I can't have it._** ' The dragon snapped back, licking his lips. ' _ **Not quite to my tastes though...**_ '

"Ha! The dragon drinks!" Feeling somehow victorious about this, Shanks cheered and ordered another round.

"Hey, does the place have watermelon? Maru loves it." Book asked the Emperor. The dragon perked up as if to prove this.

"Here, I still have some of these!" Chopper had come to them, pulling out a bag of the watermelon sweets he had made for the Heartless. With little need for invitation, Hyorinmaru gladly snatched up the bag and fished one out, chewing on it in content. Shanks could only laugh, amused by the harmless way the supposedly monstrous dragon interacted with the others.

As time passed, the twins decided to leave the drunk red-head to his own devices, escaping with Chopper, though Toshiro was not so lucky as he and his partner endured some odd questions. At this point the Reaper was mostly ignoring the man, as he would normally do with his fellow Soul Reapers back home upon their intoxication.

"Ya know, his name sounds familiar." Shanks seemed a little less red in the cheeks as he said this, his eyes clearer and looking at the Nobody curiously. Toshiro's own curiosity was drawn out and he gave the pirate an inquisitive look, Hyorinmaru doing the same with a tilt of his head. Being made of ice, it seemed the dragon did not get drunk, so he remained clear headed. "Did you know I was once part of Gol D. Rogers crew?"

"The former Pirate King?" Toshiro questioned, remembering the stories he had been told so far. "The one who left a great treasure behind?"

"Yup! Glad to see you're taking notes." The man chuckled. "Well, on Raftel, the island he left it all at, we found an interesting discovery. I won't say much in case one of the brats here are listening, don't want to spoil their adventure, but there was an interesting carving of a big dragon. Captain Roger was able to read those ancient words, and I think his name was part of it, though it didn't look like him." He pointed to the dragon, a bit amused at how intently the pair was listening to him. "The statue seemed to be guarding some kind of door. Funny thing is, not all of us saw it, it was the weirdest thing. Said we drank too much, ha!"

"A door…"

"Couldn't find a way to open it either, didn't have any handles. Just a big keyhole with no key." Shanks took another gulp as Toshiro went into thought.

"A key… but then…" Lifting up his left hand, Frozen Heavens appeared before him. As he set it on the table, Shanks nearly choked on his drink.

"-the fuck did that come from?" He choked out, trying to clear his throat of any booze he accidently got in his lungs in his surprise.

"It's a Keyblade. It might look odd, but I believe this weapon is the key to your door… it's also of great use against the Heartless." As he explained, Shanks picked up the strange weapon – with Toshiro's silent permission of course – and examined it curiously. "I'm still learning about it myself, but it can reach the heart of the world itself, as well as seal or open a world to other worlds. It's a bit of a picky weapon."

' ** _I also believe the door he found leads to the heart of the world._** ' Hyorinmaru agreed to his master's thoughts, though they made sure not to say this specific thought out loud to a pirate, friendly or not. ' ** _It's only fitting it lies at the end of this world with another memento of the first world to guard it._** '

' _Which makes two… it's highly likely these fragments gave this world its power to protect itself._ '

Shanks gave another loud curse as the Keyblade decided to finally vanish from his hands and back into Toshiro's. While the Nobody had been speaking to his dragon, some of Shanks's crew had gathered around to look as well.

"Apologies… like I said, it's a picky weapon, and I was chosen as it's master."

"That's a nice anti-thief trick." Shanks said with a bewildered tone. "Guess that's why it was glowing at me, probably didn't like me." His crew laughed at him.

' _…_ _glowing?_ ' Toshiro gave the Keyblade an odd glance. It had never glowed in someone else's hands before, and he wondered what that might mean.

Apparently talking about the statue and door was all the one-armed pirate had been waiting to say, no doubt hoping for some clues about their origins, clues Toshiro didn't really have, so the Captain left to go bother the other drinkers, Nami currently drinking Zoro under the table somehow. Now finally given some peace, Toshiro thought about the information he'd been given. There was no doubt the dragon statue was of Hyorinmaru's original form, probably an offering or sign of respect to the spirit before he merged with the first Heavenly Guardian. Like the cave with the music box, it must have been a piece that had been left behind by the first world after the war, and found itself guarding the door to this world. There wasn't really a concise way to explain that to a pirate, especially when a lot of details were still unclear, such as why these pieces happened to reside on the same world as a power that could potentially reverse being a Nobody and Heartless, not to mention why they were directly connected to him, the Heavenly Guardian, who needed that power.

It was all a string of very fortunate coincidences that was making Toshiro's head hurt as his paranoia crept its way up into his thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, these were not fortunate coincidences, but a laid out plan to open up his memories and powers. At the end of this journey, he might not get to become whole, or if he did might not be of his ow control. After everything he'd been through, Toshiro could not for one second believe these happy circumstances would turn out great for him, could not hold on to wishful thinking that he'd finally found his way out of the cruelty and darkness he'd suffered and onto a better path. Whenever things were going TOO perfect, he could only expect his next dose of suffering around the corner.

Hyorinmaru nudged him gently in comfort, his master giving a heavy sigh and trying to calm the stress back out of his shoulders.

The rest of the night continued with cheerful laughter and loud talking from the pirates present, going rather quickly through the bar's stock. The employees didn't seem to mind though, as they knew the Red Hair Pirates were good about tipping and cleaning up after themselves later, even if they didn't pay for the drinks themselves. It was a small price to keep the mighty pirates protecting their island happy, and being a popular city island they got plenty of well-paying visitors regardless, as Shanks and crew were not here often. As midnight came around, the drunks started passing out to sleep, everyone else following suit just because it was too much hassle to drag them all out back to the ships. The Heart Pirate kids curled up next to Bepo for a familiar comfort, but Toshiro kept to his corner, not sleeping.

The only other person not sleeping was Robin. She and Franky had been one of the late arrivals, and was sneaky about refusing drinks while enjoying time with her crew. She quietly made her way over to where the small figure hid away in the shadows, not saying anything even as she sat down beside him, simply opening the book she had brought with her and reading with a light smile on her face. He wouldn't say anything, but he appreciated the silent company.

"Dextra told me about what happened to the music box." Robin finally spoke after some comfortable silence.

He didn't answer but from the corner of her eyes she saw his hands curl up a bit tighter, not quite into fists but definitely a sign of discomfort.

"Did you forget that Brook already learned the song?" She turned to look at him with a soft smile.

"… I did." He admitted quietly. There was a brief pause before he spoke again. "I don't think it was just the music, though. There was… a spirit in it, someone close to my former incarnation. I think… I think she was the one holding back the nightmares, while the lullaby's magic was to ease any suffering and pain and help them sleep. When it broke… they all came rushing back at once. Her spirit could no longer hold them back."

"I see." Robin's smile faded, expression downcast. She hadn't known about the spirit being the source of the magic. The only one who did was Dextra, so Toshiro couldn't at all blame her. "That was the magic in the cave you spoke of."

"Yes… she was the younger sister of my predecessor, lost to a plague of darkness. That cave was supposed to keep her alive until he found a cure, but he wasn't fast enough, and her spirit has been bound there ever since."

"At the least she is free now." Robin attempted to return to a positive note.

Toshiro simply nodded. He couldn't deny he was upset at losing the item that kept back Maleficent's attempts to twist his mind, but now that he knew what it was keeping them away, he felt guilty using her as such. He could only thank her for the help she did give him until the dark fairy destroyed the vessel.

"Well, I was going to say, before we got off track, that you are welcome to come to us if you need to." The archeologist continued. "I'm aware you don't like being considered a child, but despite that, my Captain thinks of you as an important friend, which makes you like a little brother to us all. We may not completely understand where you come from and what you're dealing with, that is your own story to tell, but we will help you while we can."

"I appreciate it…" Toshiro said, and while he meant it, he still sighed sadly. "But it's not like I can stick around. Once Trafalgar figures out how to return Hyorinmaru and I to normal, I need to find a way back to the others."

"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy the journey until that point." She chuckled quietly. The Nobody gave her an inquisitive look. "We've had several temporary crewmates, and we will always consider them our companions even as they take a different path. You will be the same. No matter how far into the stars you travel, if you ever came back, you would be welcome on our ship."

"That's… I don't understand." Robin waited patiently for his question as he spoke. "I've only brought trouble, and unwanted attention. I hurt several of you, got one killed… every minute I sail with all of you I'm being hunted, putting everyone in danger. I just… I don't understand how anyone can have so much trust and caring for someone like that." He laughed weakly. "I was called a freak all my youth because of my HAIR, and here I've brought a force of darkness chasing after me and you're calling me FAMILY."

"Well, don't forget, none of us are exactly innocent." The woman giggled, speaking softly since he was clearly confused and distressed. In a way, she understood where he was coming from, an outcast to everyone for something beyond their own control. Her mother was an amazing person, but she had done something against the will of the government and was killed, marking her own daughter as an enemy of the world as well. Despite that sword to her neck, the lives she had taken and lies she told, her precious Captain risked his life to save her. She only wished to extend that same hand to another troubled soul like herself. She knew how much good it could do.

Toshiro gave another weak laugh.

"To think I spent decades following every rule in the book to the letter, trying to prove I was worth it… and all the people who would stick by me no matter what are rule breakers."

"Sounds like you have some interesting friends waiting for you." Robin smiled.

"Alcoholics and delinquents, all of them… but some of the best people I've ever known."

"We'll make sure you get back to them safe and whole." She reached over and patted his back, watching him relax when before he would refuse the friendly touch.

"Thank you…" His eyes closed, finally settling into a light sleep after their talk.

She remained a moment longer, rubbing his back, until she was sure he wasn't having any troubles in his sleep. She kept a close eye on the ice charm around his neck, the blue harder to see in the dark of the closed pub but still visible enough to know he was stable. Positive he was safe to let be for this night, the archeologist gave him some space before making herself comfortable for her own light nap.

The next morning, some of the older pirates woke and began cleaning up any spills or turned over chairs, greeting the bartender of the day as she arrived. The movement woke Toshiro, who stood to offer his help, to which they waved him off since he took no part in making the mess to begin with.

Shanks finally woke with a sudden jolt, sitting up with a sleepy expression.

"Had a bad dream, Captain?" Ben, a very tall, black-haired man and Shanks's first mate, chuckled at the way the red-head woke up.

"I had _A_ dream." Shanks grumbled, somewhat hungover but mostly grumpy about his restless sleep. "Something about picking a strength and a weakness and all these personal questions, some weird light. Thought I died for a second there."

Toshiro froze while the others jeered at their Captain's strange dream. That dream sounded VERY familiar.

' _He can't be…_ ' Toshiro turned to the man with wide eyes, going unnoticed for now.

"…and I reached out to the light like this and-WHOA!" In the middle of explaining how he woke up, Shanks cut off into surprise as a light flashed through the room. Everyone went from snickering to jaws dropping in seconds.

Shanks was holding a Keyblade.

Specifically, he had the regular old Kingdom Key, but a Keyblade nonetheless. Toshiro flashed over next to the man with his own bewilderment on his face.

"You're a Keyblade Wielder." He stated in awe.

* * *

 **Don't kill me please.**


	41. Always a Disaster Around the Corner

"What? Huh?" Shanks just looked very confused about the circumstances presented to him and not super thrilled about having a giant key in his hand. He also wasn't sure what Toshiro was talking about, a Keyblade Wielder.

"Wow, that's cool!" Luffy exclaimed, beaming. "Now you can do cool tricks like Snowy!" The rubber man jumped in front of a startled Toshiro. "Can I get one? How do I get one?"

"I… don't know. I'm not even sure how he got one." Toshiro answered honestly, hands up in surrender.

"What about yours?" Franky asked, trying to be a bit more serious than his Captain.

Holding his hand out, Frozen Heavens still came willingly to his hand. So the Keyblade wasn't transferred. Somehow Shanks had awakened his very own.

" **The Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony.** " Hyorinmaru hopped onto his master's shoulder with a rumble.

"Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony?" Chopper repeated the words aloud as a question so the others could understand.

"What's that?" Nami asked.

Toshiro looked to his dragon, as Hyorinmaru seemed to be the only one who knew something, having access to more memories than his master.

" **A Keyblade may be passed on to a successor of strong heart and will, chosen by a Keyblade Master.** " The dragon explained, tail swishing slowly back and forth.

"I don't remember any ceremonies or masters." Shanks said with a frown after Chopper translated.

"I'm also not a Keyblade Master." Toshiro added on, skeptical.

" **It would seem this inheritance can be passed on accidently if the new bearer has a strong heart and will. The Keyblade did react, though not even I had guessed it was passing on a successor.** "

"Oh! When it glowed at me!" The red-head exclaimed, recalling the weapon's odd behavior the night before.

"So what good is a giant key?" A short portly man, Lucky Roo, questioned the foreign pair.

"It's meant for fighting against the Heartless and other such creatures, but the powers of this world can do that just fine." Toshiro answered. "So really it's only advantage over swords and Haki is it can unlock any lock and allows passage to other worlds."

"Any lock, huh?" This at least did intrigue the powerful Pirate Emperor, looking over his new 'inheritance' once more. Compared to the intricately detailed Frozen Heavens, the Kingdom Key didn't look very impressive. To most it might as well be a joke. But if it really could act like a universal skeleton key, that was pretty worthwhile, especially if it couldn't be stolen from him.

Curious about something, Toshiro held his hand out.

"May I?" He asked, his dragon carefully climbing down onto his outstretched arm.

"Don't you have your own?" The one-armed man questioned.

"I just need to touch it… there's something I want to see if I can still do."

Curious, Shanks held one end towards the offered hand. From what he remembered, when Demyx had held onto a Keyblade, it did not copy his Soul Reaper powers as it had with the other Reapers. If so, Toshiro figured that as a Nobody himself now it wouldn't work for him either, but he also had something Demyx didn't; his other half. If both were present… would the Keyblade still copy his spiritual powers? Or would it reject them like it had with Demyx, since he wasn't whole?

He put his hand to the Keyblade, Hyorinmaru reaching his head down and putting his nose to it. It wasn't until the dragon joined in that the Keyblade began to glow, a gray light flowing from the pair and into the weapon, the others watching with a gasp.

"So it does work…" Toshiro thought aloud. "When I was myself, as a Soul Reaper, the Keyblades were able to copy my powers whenever I touched them." He pulled his hand away, the Kingdom Key morphing into an exact replica of Frozen Heavens. "By absorbing my Spirit Energy it could take on my abilities for a short time. I thought… as a Nobody, it wouldn't work anymore. But with Hyorinmaru here as well it does."

"Sounds hopeful that your condition can be reversed." Robin spoke positively, hoping that's what he was getting at. Shanks meanwhile was admiring the dragon shaped Keyblade, wondering how short was a 'short time' to keep this form.

It was indeed a good sign for Toshiro that having Hyorinmaru next to him was vital to returning to normal, that together they still had hope. But it also made him worry for Demyx… the former Soul Reaper's zanpaktou spirit had been destroyed upon becoming a Heartless and refusing to be loyal to Xemnas, who had her obliterated. He didn't have his other half anymore, just memories of his former abilities with her. Could he still be saved? He didn't seem to mind being a Nobody as much, but he had also seemed excited at the possibility of returning to normal.

"Ah…" Shanks's disappointed sigh brought him from his thoughts in time to see the other's Keyblade return to normal.

"Sorry, it's only a minute of transformation for every second I… we… touch it." Toshiro explained to the miffed pirate.

"Ah, well…" Shrugging, the man stood. "Anything else it can do?"

"I wish I had the time or knowledge to help… but I've only had mine for barely over a month myself. It does, unfortunately, make you a bigger target for the Heartless. They seek out the Keyblades to destroy them and their wielders."

"Sounds fun." As he was starting to expect at this point, the pirate didn't seem at all daunted about being hunted by the dark creatures.

While Toshiro was drilled by the Red Hair Pirates for whatever he COULD offer them about the weapon, all the Straw Hats except Chopper said their goodbyes and started heading back to the Sunny, Bepo having spoken up that the Log Pose was set and leaving with his fellow Heart Pirates as well, save for Dextra who let Chopper sit on her shoulders while they waited for Toshiro.

"Do you think anyone in our two crews can get a Keyblade?" Chopper asked his current perch.

"Maybe… I'm sure he'll get asked for it a bunch." Dextra responded quietly. "Doesn't seem like he knows how to give it to people though, Shanks just somehow was a good candidate for it."

"Yeah, I suppose Hyorinmaru would know more about it, Toshiro looked kind of lost."

After a pat on the head from Shanks to thank him for his time, Toshiro was finally free of questions and hurried over to them.

"Have a good time sailing, better get moving now before the Log Poses reset." The Emperor waved them off with a grin, the Keyblade vanished for now.

Nodding back at the man, they headed outside of the building and back towards the docks. Chopper repeated his question about any of them getting a Keyblade to the Nobody and Heartless pair.

"I don't really know the requirements to be a bearer, and I don't know the actual ceremony." Toshiro sighed, already knowing he was going to need to repeat such an answer a lot. "Hyorinmaru says having a Keyblade wasn't always so rare, but it still takes a special kind of person to be chosen by one, and after the Keyblade War there wasn't very many candidates left to pass them on."

"Whoa, there was a war?" The reindeer gaped.

As Toshiro explained in brief about how the worlds used to be just one, and the Keyblade War resulted in the darkness destroying it and splitting it into all the worlds there were now – and how that might explain why connections to his past life were here when he was born elsewhere – a stranger began to approach from behind. He bore a black cloak, the same as what Toshiro had first arrived in, and it hid him briefly from the two perceptive children.

When they did notice, Dextra turned back to look at him with a narrowed, suspicious gaze while Toshiro tensed up and turned around quickly with a scowl that said he was ready to fight.

"There is no need for the silent threats." The young voice was unfamiliar to Toshiro… but the man's Spirit Energy was not. "I am only here for a conversation."

"Last time we had a conversation you turned me into THIS." Toshiro spat back, his dragon snarling in rage from his shoulder. Dextra gasped at his comment, understanding who was standing across from them now.

"Indeed I did, but that is a me in a later time, the me now has no quarrel with you." The man replied with a chuckle that suggested he knew something more than what he gave them.

"What are you talking about?"

The figure reached up and pulled away the hood. The dark skin and bright silver hair was the same as always, sinister amber eyes still holding an expression of being superior to them, knowing more. Arrogance and malice. Toshiro scowled at this, but was also confused. This was definitely one of Xehanort's two selves… but he didn't look quite like either the Heartless Ansem or the Nobody Xemnas. He seemed… younger, and his now revealed aura felt… whole.

"I am still Xehanort, as you surmised, but I am him of a time long ago. I would explain more, but it is difficult for me to continue existing outside the sleeping realms." The young Xehanort lifted an arm up, observing it curiously as his image became somewhat transparent for a brief moment.

"How… are you suggesting time travel? And sleeping realms, what even are those?" Only further confused, Toshiro didn't know if he should be rid of the man while he could or learn more.

"Time travel… not quite. Memories can be quite powerful, is all, more so in dreams." With a knowing sneer, Xehanort held his arms out as he continued. Dextra bristled, feathers showing, not appreciating the hidden threat. "You will understand in time. However, in this current time, I am merely here to explain the position you are in."

Concerned that he was being ambushed, Toshiro brought his zanpaktou into his hand.

"I would save your strength for later, Nobody of Hitsugaya, for you have a much greater enemy waiting to see you." Xehanort chuckled menacingly. "I understand you are attempting to 'fix' your situation… he will ensure you do not get that far. We would much rather you be compliant to our wishes, and his ability will be of GREAT use for that."

"Go to Hell." The chill in the air was sharp enough even Chopper shivered.

The young Xehanort just laughed wickedly.

"Give those regards to Aizen Sosuke for me, would you?" He sneered.

A dark portal rose up around him, taking him away to a place none of them could possibly know a mere second before Toshiro's blade swung through the air where the other's head had been.

Just then, Shanks and Ben arrived, having hurried over after catching onto hostility in the air. They had just barely seen the silver-haired stranger vanish into the darkness, but they could clearly see the panic and hatred on Toshiro's face, the way he gripped his sword tighter than he should have been.

"What just happened here? Who was that?" Shanks demanded, somewhat annoyed the stranger had managed to just disappear.

"More bad people…" Dextra frowned, worried. Toshiro's hands were shaking. The name that was mentioned, Aizen… she only knew the basic points of the damage he had caused, but if what this Xehanort figure had stated was true, he was about to cause more.

There was a shout, the young girl hearing her name, and those gathered except for Toshiro turned to look. Law, having heard from Bepo and Daniel what had transpired on the island, had come to get the child still remaining on the island. Even knowing Red Hair Shanks was friendly with Luffy, the surgeon was not comfortable with the idea of being on the same island as an Emperor.

"Papa, it's fine." Dextra assured him as the tall pirate came to a stop next to her, shooting a wary glare at the one-armed pirate across from him.

"Of course it is, I wouldn't hurt a kid if I didn't have to." Shanks added on with a frown, naturally not very happy about the look he was getting, but coming to realize it was just an overprotective father look. "Besides, you missed the actual bad guy."

"What?" Law was of course confused by this.

"Xehanort." Toshiro stated simply, finally managing to calm down. Even as a Nobody, the shock of what he had heard had brought up strong emotions, ones that took him a moment longer to quell. "And if what he said is to be believed… Aizen."

"Not sure who either person is but the first one looked like bad news." Shanks said with a grumble while Law looked shocked. "If he shows up here again he'll regret it."

"Doubtful he would… it's me he wants."

"This Aizen guy too?"

"Yes."

"What's he look like? I'll keep an eye out for him." Shanks gave a reassuring grin, though it turned into a frown at Toshiro's next words.

"I have no doubt you're strong… but avoid Aizen at all costs. He's not just strong, he's immortal."

"Immortal?" Law questioned, this being the first time he heard such a thing. He knew Aizen was powerful and dangerous, but Toshiro had never explicitly stated immortal. No wonder he feared the man, if he really was impossible to kill.

"It's difficult to explain it all in brief… but yes. If he really did escape…" Fists clenching, Toshiro turned away with a scowl and started walking quickly back to the docks.

"Hey, wait up!" Dextra hurried after him, Chopper still quiet and scared on her shoulders. Law quickly followed, leaving a confused Shanks and Ben behind.

The red-head turned to his first mate.

"Seems like something big is about to go down… it'd be a shame to miss it."

Understanding, Ben nodded and hurried back to his crew to tell them they should get ready to leave.

As the Sunny and submarine came back in view, Dextra caught up to Toshiro's side and managed to get him to stop. A few members of both crews saw them and returned to land, curious about what was going on and why the trio approaching looked so upset.

"Toshiro, are you okay?" The eagle girl asked him now that she had his attention. He refused to look up from the ground, however, his dragon grumbling on his shoulders with ruffled scales, no doubt having an internal conversation with his partner that neither was happy about.

"No… I need to leave."

"Leave? Why?" Usopp had arrived with a few others just in time to hear this.

"Yeah, we finally were having some fun." Shachi added on, Penguin nodding beside him.

"Is Aizen really that bad?" Chopper asked in a quiet voice.

The others were surprised by the name, wondering what had happened more than ever, whereas Toshiro remained tense and silent.

' ** _You know this is what they want you to do, isolating yourself like this._** ' Hyorinmaru warned him. ' ** _I stand by the decision I always have; do NOT do this by yourself, it only brings you pain._** '

' _But how do I justify what will inevitably happen? I will only get them killed…_ ' Toshiro argued internally, ignoring the questions being thrown at him about what happened and Aizen being brought up, Dextra briefly telling them about the encounter with Xehanort.

' ** _Having so little faith in yourself and your friends is what will kill them._** ' Hyorinmaru snapped and left it at that, his partner barely hiding his flinch at the words.

"Immortal or not, surely we can hold him off." Law stepped in front of the smaller figure to stand with the others while they waited for more information from him.

"Immortal?" Sanji looked at the doctor skeptically.

Sighing heavily, Toshiro caved in to the increasing intensity of the stares. They had trusted him this far… the least he could do was explain why he couldn't stay.

"Aizen Sosuke got his hands on a particular item known as the Hogyoku." He explained, the others listening closely. "He was able to fuse himself to this powerful item, and in turn became immortal. There was a Soul Reaper whose zanpaktou held a fatal poison, and he was able to get close enough to use it on Aizen, completely disintegrating him… except it was too late, and after reforming, Aizen slaughtered him. That alone is proof enough he can no longer be killed."

"Yikes…" Usopp shuddered.

"But that alone isn't why I should leave… it's his power."

After sharing glances with one another, they waited for an explanation. Toshiro finally looked up, a solemn expression on his face.

"Complete Hypnosis." He stated. "By witnessing the activation of his zanpaktou's Shikai, one is now completely under his control. He can make them believe any scenario he wants. Sound, sight, touch, all of it he can manipulate to such a finite degree the person doesn't even know that what they see is a false reality. All of you are safe from it," this seemed to relieve some tension in their bodies as he said this, "he no longer has his zanpaktou after abandoning it upon gaining the Hogyoku's power… but I'm still trapped by it. He could make me attack all of you and I would never know I had the wrong target."

"We'll just snap you out of it." Penguin countered confidently.

"It's not at all that easy." Toshiro argued with a shake of his head. "You don't understand; my entire perception of reality will be changed. THIS is how he fooled the entire squads of powerful, elite Soul Reapers. We thought we had him, only to be completely fooled, and one of our own almost killed… I never knew the person I cared about most was in any danger until I saw her impaled on my own blade."

There were a few gasps at his last words, Shachi paling as he remembered the quip he had made weeks back that had almost gotten him impaled on ice. Aizen had done more than steal his girl… he made Toshiro almost murder her. The Nobody continued on with a slightly shaky voice, clearly not comfortable saying all this, but knowing it needed to be said, to make them understand what they were up against.

"After that, he took out each Captain in one hit each, before we ever had a chance to figure out what was real."

"The scar… the one that should have taken your arm…" Law was looking a little spooked now as well, remembering the vicious wound he had seen on the figure before. That was one strike?

"I'm lucky to still have one." Was all the small figure said to agree with the statement. "That, and my life."

"He really was just playing with all of you…" Jimbei held sympathy for the child, knowing this was all difficult for him to say.

"Do you understand now?" Toshiro's tone became firm, getting past the explanation and back to his original point. "If he really has escaped… if he really is coming after me… I can't stay here."

"I've almost found the solution to controlling the form of the Heartless, you're going to bail out on this now?"

"I appreciate all the help so far but I can't risk Aizen using me to bring it all to a stop."

"You don't really think we're that weak, do you?" Zoro finally spoke up from the back. He hadn't been too interested in the conversation, but he definitely looked rather irritated at Toshiro's suggestions.

Scowling at their stubbornness, Toshiro tried once more to clarify his situation.

"It's not about being weak or strong, he can't be killed and I will lose any sense of what's real. I'm sure you can handle yourselves just fine but… I don't want to risk the events of last time again. His Spiritual Pressure alone is strong enough to vaporize the average human now that he has the Hogyoku, and everything I told you happened BEFORE he became fully immortal and gained that power."

"I'm going to repeat myself… do you think we're that weak?" Zoro growled.

"I AM!" Toshiro snapped, catching the swordsman off guard. The panic was back, Dextra's eyes glancing at the ice charm just in case. He was upset, but not unstable.

There was silence for a brief moment after the shout, everyone surprised. Hyorinmaru gave a low rumble to try and comfort his partner while he stood there shaking, whether from anger or fear they weren't sure.

"No matter what I do… no matter how hard I try… I am ALWAYS a step behind." The shaking in his body was in his voice now as well, making them uncomfortable. This was unlike him, teal eyes usually determined and stoic, not pleading with them as they were now. "I am a literal Nobody now… I've been led down a path I can't see, thinking I was making my own choices, and anyone who tries to help me escape is killed, sometimes by my own hand…"

Hyorinmaru suddenly bristled, looking at his master with a fierce expression. Chopper, picking up on this, gasped loudly.

"You're not planning to-"

He was cut off as Robin stepped forward, having joined them with a few of the others at this last moment, concerned by Toshiro's shout. She stopped just in front of the Ice Nobody, he looking back up at her with a suspicious look, posture tense. Her expression was stern, and after their conversation the night before he felt guilty betraying them like this. Then, she sighed, kneeling down in front of him and softening her expression.

"I understand why you're thinking the way you are." She spoke with the calm understanding of empathy between adults in the same hell. "I tried to do the same thing once. All I can tell you is that it isn't the answer."

Toshiro turned away, remaining silent on the topic. He did understand what she meant… but as trouble only continued to come his way, he truly felt the only way to stop them… was to remove himself from the equation.

Snarling, Hyorinmaru left his shoulder, jumping over to a startled Law instead.

' ** _I will not follow such a fruitless mission._** ' The Heartless hissed and bared his teeth. Toshiro couldn't even look at him. ' ** _My master is not suicidal, he is strong and determined, a savior of souls. If you truly wish to descend into darkness, I WILL NOT JOIN YOU.'_**

The rejection from his dragon hurt him the most.

* * *

 **Early update cause i'm going to be gone over the break, so unless I can find time between work and family to post don't expect anything until next Monday. Very sorry for the tense cliffhanger, I promise the Straw Hats will get it fixed, but Toshiro is very traditional and very stressed which is why he has this mindset, that and he's being pushed to those extremes unwillingly by the darkness. He'll be okay though.**


	42. Am I Really Okay?

Despite saying he was going to leave, Toshiro wordlessly followed them back onto the Sunny, expression blank and stoic again. He refused to speak to anyone who tried until finally they just left him alone as they left the island, sitting in the library out of everyone's way. Hyorinmaru did not stay with him, but instead followed Trafalgar back into the submarine. He let the doctor be while he talked to Dextra about what happened on the island, but returned to him in the infirmary. His master may have given up, but the dragon was determined to return whole, if only so he could help save his partner from the fate he believed he deserved.

There was the issue of not understanding the Heartless, but thankfully Hyorinmaru was sentient, and fully capable of getting his message across in other ways. One such message was the small sized dragon jumping over to the samples of Stigma – at this point inert and looking a bit gray with the Heartless gone – and pointing at them with his tail, head tilting to suggest a question.

"I've already examined that where I could, it won't help." Law replied. "It's specific to the Heartless we fought since it had mushrooms growing on it, it's not made of the same substance as the Heartless itself."

Lifting a wing, Hyorinmaru let wisps of darkness rise from his form before blowing on it.

"Are you trying to point out it is the same?" The surgeon did his best to understand. The dragon nodded. "Perhaps… but comparing it to the bodies of the Heartless we captured showed it was different, unless the shadows you give off, and by extension those spores, take on a different property than the physical form."

Hyorinmaru turned back to the samples, tail waving slowly in thought. He didn't seem too sure either, so Law decided to just theorize out loud.

"There is definitely something that gives the darkness its shape, allows all of you to keep your sense of self even when hidden in a shadow. So there is the darkness itself, holding onto the heart, and something to hold it together… a malleable skin."

Hyorinmaru looked to the doctor expectantly, alert and attentive.

"If I can copy that 'skin' I might be able to hold onto the heart." Law turned to one of the last few Heartless prisoners from the crews they had captured, a new method in mind, Hyorinmaru leaping over to the table to observe. The normal barrier he kept around organs when removing them with Mes gave the impression that the organ was still part of the body, keeping both it and its owner alive but allowing him to freely manipulate it. However, the Heartless had no true body or organs. Removing its one part, the 'heart', caused it to lose its self and therefore its shape, and with no 'body' to cling to the 'heart' would vanish.

Now, changing the property of the barrier created by Mes was no easy task. It was a natural form it took upon using that technique, which essentially meant he needed to create a new technique to create the same results with a different medium. It was as he told Toshiro before; working with the non-physical was not his strong suit. The only technique he had that did such a thing was switching personalities in a body, as he had done to the Straw Hats. He wasn't switching personalities, however, he was merging them, so that technique alone wouldn't work.

"If I could figure out a way to combine Mes and the Personality Transplant…" Law muttered to himself as he created the Room around him.

While he manipulated his abilities on the Heartless, Hyorinmaru turned to look at the doors. He wanted to go tell his master how close they were… but he had made his choice, and until Toshiro came to his senses again, he would not go. He WAS worried, very worried… just like his instincts were stronger, making him more aggressive, his master seemed to be falling apart into the void of being a Nobody, losing more of himself each day. Hyorinmaru had greatly hoped the cheerful pirates could bring back the soul in his partner… but every time they made progress, something or someone pulled him away again. Toshiro was right about at least one thing; no matter what they tried, someone tried even harder to snuff out his happiness, and his resistance to it was beginning to break. Holding onto happiness as a Nobody was a difficult task when most of your memories held only negative emotions. He could feel joy in the moment, but it did not take much to lose it, and this was causing him to spiral further into despair.

The dragon's head lowered, his concern showing through like a sad puppy, and it caught Law's attention.

"Worried about your other half?" The surgeon guessed correctly.

Hyorinmaru's tail flicking through the air was his only response.

"You're both stubborn." Law said with a sigh, earning a glare from the ice dragon. "You're the only one he depends on, you know, when he first showed up he was desperately hoping to find you. Are you just going to let him sulk?"

Hyorinmaru gave an irritated snort, his spines sticking up in retaliation to the suggestion.

"Don't get huffy with me, you're the one who decided to abandon him." Law returned to his work even as Hyorinmaru growled at him. "It's going to be hard to put you two back together if you're acting like this. I know he's not himself right now, but compared to you he barely knows us, what are we going to do? If Robin couldn't get through to him after gaining his trust as she has, then you're his last hope." He paused as he thought about something. "Or maybe Straw Hat. That kid has a weird way with people."

Hyorinmaru went into thought while Law just shook his head and focused once more, the dragon wondering if he should recruit the bright and extroverted Captain into convincing his master away from his current thought path. Luffy was alarmingly similar to Sora, if a little denser. There was also the two women, Robin having some kind of bond with him, their situations similar, and Nami bearing a resemblance in many ways to Toshiro's ever loyal Lieutenant Rangiku. Dextra, as well, had grown close to him, a troubled soul just like Hinamori who just wanted to help him feel better.

These were all good choices, and now with a mission in mind, the dragon scrambled his way out of the infirmary.

"Hm, hopefully he's not off to cause trouble." Was all Law said before returning to the lesser Heartless.

Since he was on the submarine, Hyorinmaru looked for the young eagle girl first. The Heart Pirates stopped to look at the dragon oddly as he pranced through the halls in his search, ignoring them and sniffing her out. He found her chatting with her siblings in the galley, telling Thursday about their time with Shanks, Book and Daniel adding their bits in with excited faces. Thursday looked a little upset she didn't get to go, having been busy with chores as the oldest.

Their chatter came to a halt as Hyorinmaru jumped up onto the table.

"Hi Maru." Daniel greeted the dragon with a grin expected of a child.

Hyorinmaru still wasn't sure about this nickname of his, but felt there was no gain in reprimanding children, especially pirates. Instead, he plopped down in front of Dextra and motioned with his head towards the door.

"Do you have something to show me?" She questioned, curious.

It wasn't quite correct, but close enough to get her to follow, so he nodded and hopped back off the table. She shrugged in answer to the stares of the other three orphans before following the little dragon through the halls.

He led her outside of the submarine, lifting off and flying over to the Sunny. Confused, Dextra shifted into her wings and followed, returning to normal upon landing.

"Hey Dextra, something up?" Nami asked her, curious about her arrival.

"No idea, Maru wanted me to follow him for some reason, I thought he was showing me something."

"Was he? Oh…" Nami's attention was turned to the dragon himself as he hopped onto her lap in the chair she was lounging in. Once more he motioned with his head for her to follow. "Me too?"

He nodded.

Nami and Dextra shared confused glances. The navigator agreed hesitantly, standing, and the dragon rushed over to where Luffy was playing around with Usopp and Chopper while Brook played music. Seeing the skeleton, Hyorinmaru remembered the power of his music and added another to his list of people to grab.

"Oh, Maru!" Luffy, as always, greeted the dragon with enthusiasm. "Huh? What's up?"

"He says he wants you and Brook to follow him." Chopper spoke up. Hyorinmaru had gladly taken advantage of the reindeer being there to make it easier for them to understand what he wanted. "Oh? Me too? Oh, right, of course I'll translate!"

"What's all this about?" Brook asked curiously, wondering what the dragon was up to gathering specific people together, Usopp scratching at his head in confusion as he tried to understand as well.

"He'll tell us once we get Robin." Chopper answered after the dragon growled out his response.

"Ooh, mystery!" Not at all worried, Luffy cheerfully followed after the dragon in their growing group.

"Is this about Toshiro?" Dextra asked, recognizing the people Hyorinmaru was gathering together.

Hyorinmaru nodded to her but said no more, at least not that they could tell since Chopper didn't add anything.

"I'm going to guess an intervention." Nami sighed, but had a light smile on her face. It was sweet to see the pitch black, rather scary looking Heartless trying so hard to help his partner.

They reached Robin sitting quietly with a book up by her garden. She looked up curiously at their group, then back down to Hyorinmaru sitting proudly on her lap as their leader. With a smile she understood without any need for words, saving her page and setting the book down. Hyorinmaru returned to the ground but took a seat instead, ready to tell them his plan.

"He says he wants us to help his master snap out of it." Chopper, as Hyorinmaru's speaker, stated clearly, standing next to the dragon as they gathered around. "He thinks everyone here has something that reflects important people in his life he trusts and you might be able to get through to him."

"Toshiro knows someone like Luffy?" Nami questioned while said Captain looked excited about the mission. He did pout briefly at her, but his spirit never dampened.

"Someone named Sora is a lot like him, always positive and protecting his friends, he thinks that same energy might get through to Toshiro just like Sora was able to."

"This Sora guy sounds cool." The straw hat wearer grinned. "Do we get to meet him?"

"He says Sora and his friend Riku escaped a place called the dark realms, but he doesn't know where they went after that since he went looking for his master, he just knows they weren't there anymore."

"They're probably looking for him too, but they probably don't have a way to track him like you do." Robin patted the dragons head. Hyorinmaru oddly did not refuse the petting.

"He says he would have helped them, but he lost control of himself not long after and just blindly hunted after his master without remembering why, and since he doesn't know where they went he doesn't want to leave his master to look for them. So he hopes we can help instead since we've made friends with Toshiro."

"Fair enough, how would you like us to do that?" Robin questioned with a smile.

"Don't give up on him." Chopper translated, holding a hoof up as his version of a thumbs up. "Also Brook, he says the lullaby might help him, it's a song from his past life that he made, it might help relax him while everyone talks to him."

"Yoho! I am glad for my music to be of service!" Bringing up his violin, the skeleton set about playing the lullaby he had learned from the music box.

With the uplifting song flowing through the air, the four chosen followed Hyorinmaru over to the library where Toshiro had been hiding out the whole day, Chopper staying behind with Brook as his task was done.

"You don't think he'll get mad and try to freeze us, do you?" Nami asked those with her.

"Why would he do that?" Luffy returned with a question of his own, oblivious to such a possibility.

"Never mind…"

They stepped inside, Hyorinmaru choosing to rest on Dextra's shoulders for now, a bit concerned his master might be mad at him.

Toshiro, as had been usual all day, did not even acknowledge their presence. He stared blankly out the small window, knees up to his chest and barely moving. Since he didn't need to really breathe, he practically looked dead, a sight that made a few of them uncomfortable.

"Hey Snowy!" Luffy, ever the natural ball of sunshine, overlooked Toshiro's current state and greeted him with enthusiasm.

It worked at least, the loud noise spooking the Nobody out of whatever headspace he had been hiding in, oblivious to the world. He pushed himself back against the wall as if to escape, looking at Luffy with a surprised expression. Considering he could sense one's Spirit Energy, he shouldn't have been so easily startled by people right next to him.

"H-hi…" Still looking a bit surprised, this was all Toshiro responded with. It was the first thing he had said in several hours, though, so the group counted this as their first success. Leave it to Luffy.

"Was there something super interesting out the window?" Curious, the rubber man hurried forward and pressed his face to the glass, quickly disappointed when he only saw ocean all the way to the horizon. Toshiro meanwhile had scooted away to have his personal space back. "Aw, there's nothing out here."

"Of course not." Toshiro grumbled.

"Then why were you looking out the window?"

"I… wasn't." Discomfort coming back, Toshiro looked away from the confused rubber man.

"He was lost in thought, Luffy." Nami explained to her Captain.

"Well don't get lost then." This Luffy said to Toshiro with a stern expression, as if trying to be a knowing parent. Toshiro could only look confused. "Nami's a good navigator, she keeps us from getting lost, ask her for directions."

"Why are you all even here?" Deciding Luffy was too much of a nuisance to deal with right now, Toshiro turned to the others for answers. He spotted Hyorinmaru on Dextra's shoulders, coming to a realization before Nami explained it out loud.

"Your dragon asked us to talk to you." She said.

He looked at the dragon accusingly, eyes narrowed. Hyorinmaru stared calmly back, confident in his plan. Brook's music began to flow through the room, more noticeable as Luffy wasn't yelling. The Nobody was surprised, but did not relax just yet.

"You haven't eaten since last night; you should join us for dinner." Dextra stepped forward shyly as she offered her idea.

Toshiro turned away instead, choosing not to answer.

"Oh come on now, don't make us drag you out." Nami crossed her arms with a huff, not liking his attitude. "If Sanji realizes you're not eating he'll stuff it down your throat."

"If you'd like, I can get Chopper to make some more of his watermelon candies for dessert." Robin added on in a nicer tone. Toshiro didn't seem to react to the bribe, though Hyorinmaru looked up at her eagerly.

"Did you get lost again?" Luffy waved his hand in front of the Nobody as he continued to ignore them. This earned him an icy glare, but the rubber man was not one to back down. "Oh! I know! We should go fishing!"

"You just want to out-fish Maru still." Dextra pointed out.

"Then I'd just ask Maru, I'm asking Snowy." Luffy argued back with a pout. "Maru cheats!"

Said dragon stuck his tongue out at the Captain.

"Hey!" Always one to rise to a challenge, Luffy jumped to his feet. "If me, Usopp and Snowy work together we can totally out-fish you!"

Hyorinmaru lifted his head in challenge to that bet, doubting they could ever match his catches since he had far more freedom in the water and could get far bigger to match his prey.

"Luffy, at some point he's going to eat you." Nami snapped at her Captain. "But how about you, Toshiro? Want to challenge your dragon at fishing? I bet you could get more than these idiots with your power over water."

"Or we could race again!" Dextra spoke up excitedly. "I've never gotten to fly so fast before, it was amazing!"

"Yeah, that was awesome! Hey Maru, could I fly on you?" Luffy had an excited glint in his eyes. It was quickly gone as Hyorinmaru gave an indignant snort; as if he would ever let anyone else ride on him. "Aw, come on, don't be so stubborn!"

Though they were asking him questions, the group seemed content to chatter amongst themselves about various ideas to get the Nobody outside and doing something again. Toshiro himself just watched the interactions quietly, the music barely heard over their chatter but still soothing, a welcome relief to his tired mind. As he listened to their conversations, watched Hyorinmaru interact with them like a close friend despite his current nature as a Heartless, saw their eagerness to help him despite everything he had said to them… he couldn't help a small smile. It felt so… homely. That was the only way he could describe it. The light bickering, the acceptance, the personalities, they all reminded him of the rare few times he was content and satisfied with himself, and of the rarer moments of actually feeling like he belonged.

He still wasn't really sure if the mentality he had was his full belief or the darkness still messing with his head. With the way his society was, taking his own life only felt natural if it meant his enemies couldn't get their hands on the power they wanted to destroy everything. To him it just made sense. It was an easy answer.

And yet, it felt so wrong. There was a nagging inside his head that said it wouldn't help, and he once again wasn't sure if it was his own thoughts or was just the feelings from those around him causing him to doubt his convictions. He really did want to live… he wanted to win… but could he? That was his biggest fear, to try his best and work so hard only to play right into their hands. He didn't want to be responsible for any further deaths.

He was brought from his thoughts as a weight landed on his knees. Focusing back on those around him, he realized Hyorinmaru had jumped on him, looking disgruntled, icy spikes ruffled.

' ** _Tell them I don't want any more ridiculous armors or garments, they continue to pester me!_** ' The dragon complained, turning a glare on Nami and Luffy, the pair grinning back.

"What are you two trying to put on him?" Toshiro asked them, confused by his dragon's request.

' ** _They want me to wear ridiculous outfits!_** ' Hyorinmaru reiterated, clearly annoyed.

"We just had some ideas to make him look super awesome for when he flies into a battle!" Luffy gave his version of the answer, eyes gleaming.

"Or maybe something cute." Nami countered with a tone like talking to a pet dog. Hyorinmaru snarled.

"I was thinking something to accent his spikes and teeth to look fiercer." Robin kept the ideas flowing, Dextra just giggling off to the side.

"Obviously you should put him in a samurai style, we're Japanese." Toshiro shot back at them.

' ** _Master!?_** ' The Heartless looked at him in betrayal.

"That's a great idea!" Luffy exclaimed. Without any warning he grabbed the startled dragon and hurried off outside to tell Franky and Usopp of the idea. A startled shout moments later told them he'd gotten frozen before he could make it over, and Hyorinmaru rushed back in to get away, hurrying over to hide behind his master.

"Thought you would have liked my suggestion." Toshiro said to the ruffled dragon with a chuckle. He had picked the samurai style as it wasn't too far off from what Hyorinmaru wore in his human form.

' ** _I am a dragon! I have no need for stifling garments!_** ' The Heartless huffed an icy breath of anger at him.

Since all they saw was the pouting huff, the girls still in the room all laughed.

Thankfully, it seemed their plan had worked, though ending with Hyorinmaru being angry at Luffy for the next few hours, bristling and hissing if the Captain tried to approach. Only Chopper's treats could soothe the Heartless. His master at least was no longer hiding, and spoke no more of leaving in any sense, finally eating with them again. There was still a withdrawn look to his expressions, but he was coming back, and that was the best progress yet.

Some were concerned how long it would last.

* * *

 **Hope everyone was well over the holidays, have some wholesome stuff.**


	43. The Pink Captain

The young angel fruit user was tense with worry, watching the witch she called her boss standing across from a fierce looking man. Maleficent was scowling, but the one opposite of her, Xehanort in his young form, had a grin on his face as if he had won the lottery. Like his encounter with Toshiro, his form was not completely there, fading in and out. It was for this reason only that she did not cast him out immediately.

"I have not been putting so much work into that boy for you to come and snatch him up now." She growled at the phantom.

"Your interest in him is superficial at best, and only because of knowledge leaked by my subordinates." Xehanort responded calmly with a sinister chuckle. "My goals have been centuries in the making… you will not take the key from me now."

"What is it YOU want with Kingdom Hearts?" The dark fairy snapped, bristling at her efforts being dismissed.

"Kingdom Hearts?" Tebliel questioned, unfamiliar with the term.

"Silence." Maleficent's voice was harsh, making the angel shrink away in surprise. Up until this point the older woman had treated her kindly.

"You seek a mere kingdom. Noble, but ultimately pointless. A Kingdom is never in power for very long, it will always trade hands." Ignoring the Devil Fruit user, Xehanort chose to just answer the fairy. "I seek to USE Kingdom Hearts. To bring back the ancient powers of yore and restore the darkness, the true power of these worlds. And for that, I need the key attached to the soul who crafted the light that contains it."

"And you're calling my cause pointless?" Maleficent scoffed. "I am not blind, you idiot, there is no purpose to erasing the worlds. Is it not better to control them?"

"Your Heartless would only devour them anyway." Xehanort seemed to find this arguing pointless, beginning to turn away, expression one of an irritated man. "This world is too well protected for your intentions to begin with, the Heartless will not survive, not when it holds powerful pieces of history long passed. I have already set the pieces in motion to bring the key to me…" He turned back to her with a sneer, beginning to fade. "I do appreciate your assistance."

And with a flare of darkness, the image of young Xehanort vanished into a dark portal.

"What a nuisance." Maleficent huffed, displeased. She had ideas about what pieces Xehanort had set into play, however, and frankly did not want to deal with the trouble of being in the middle of it. Perhaps she would interfere once more, as she had in The World That Never Was against the organization, but it would be from well in the shadows this time. It was a setback for sure, but as long as HE didn't get the Soul Reaper, she could make it work. "There is quite a bit of work to do now…"

She started moving off, not bothering to check on her follower. Tebliel took a nervous gulp before following, having finally seen a different side of her savior than she had come to expect of the woman. Remembering how Thursday had mentioned only hearing bad about Maleficent… she was starting to wonder if she'd picked the wrong side. Maleficent wasn't going to help the children… so she would have to do something on her own, when the dark fairy's eyes weren't on her.

This chance came quick enough, and the angel took off, seeking out Marines first and foremost as the ones who helped people and stopped pirates. If she said the children were in danger, held against their will, she could maybe convince them to leave the children alone, and she could get them away from the dangerous Nobody. Her wings had grown strong doing errands for Maleficent, and they carried her far away from the island the dark fairy had chosen to reside in. She could only hope to spot a ship before she reached her limit… falling into the ocean was not appealing.

An hour passed, her flight slowing down as her wings ached from fatigue. If she rode the wind currents she could basically glide for another hour, but after that she HAD to find a landing space, and sadly there were no islands in sight, not even an outcropping of rocks. She might be in trouble…

As if knowing of her plight, a small Marine fleet came into sight.

"Oh thank goodness." She breathed out heavily in relief, summoning what energy she had to reach them.

A pink haired Captain gladly let her land and rest, hearing her out, even if the blonde man with a visor looked less than pleased. Interested, he agreed to find the two allied crews, though he did have some heavy words for her.

"You do know those kids were adopted by Trafalgar Law, right?" He spoke softly to the tired Mink-Human. He had given his name as Coby, a young man proud of his profession and always eager to assist, he was one of the better examples of Marines. Besides the bright pink hair held back by a bright green headband, he had his glasses up on his forward, a white coat hung over his shoulders, and a scar above his eyes to show he was not as soft as he looked.

"Adopted?" Tebliel looked confused. "Not… not kidnapped?"

"Definitely not." Coby shook his head. "They sail with him willingly, rumor has it he saved them years back. We've recently connected one of them to being a dangerous Devil Fruit user that used to be controlled by Donquixote Doflamingo. One of the reasons Trafalgar uprooted Doflamingo from his kingdom was apparently to get her back."

"That can't be right, they're just kids." The angel user looked stunned. "And… and even if that's true, there's someone with them that's really dangerous!"

"Are you talking about the new kid seen with them recently?" The blonde, a Lieutenant Commander named Helmeppo, questioned. "Hitsugaya I think was his name?"

"Yes! He's connected to all the Heartless that showed up recently, he has a powerful one as his pet! He'll get them killed!"

Frowning, Coby and Helmeppo shared a glance as they mulled over this information for a moment. From what they had heard of Admiral Fujitora's reports, this Hitsugaya Toshiro was an odd child that was fully capable in a fight and possessed some kind of ice ability not related to a Devil Fruit. There was nothing about controlling a Heartless, though. Perhaps it had not been present when Fujitora and his fleet came across them? In reality, Fujitora had asked his men not to mention the dragon, his only other favor to Toshiro for the valuable information and the liquid weapon against the darkness, which meant no one else besides his fleet knew of it.

Concerned about the doubt on the Captain's face, Tebliel used a slight bit of her ability, just enough to get the young Marine to agree to help her and accept that Toshiro was a threat to the children. Coby's own natural instinct to help others was an easy target for her skill of persuasion, a skill angels used to prey upon doubts and set one on a better path, whatever the angel thought that might be.

"We'll just have to take care of him then." Coby spoke firmly so his men could hear. They seemed to be in agreement, though Helmeppo frowned. "If he's hiding something like that, he's likely a danger to more than just the children; he'll bring harm to everyone."

Tebliel breathed a sigh of relief, glad he agreed.

The fleet wasn't too far away from the allied pirates, either. It only took a day to catch up with them after their last suspected sighting on the island occupied by the Red Hair Pirates.

By now, Toshiro had given up on his plan to leave, especially after seeing how close Law was to a new technique that could fix him. The Surgeon of Death was getting better at manipulating the shadow 'bodies' of the creatures, and after restocking the Heartless available to him when another pair of Heartless ships tried to come after them, he had more leeway to mess around with ideas and see which one held them together best. It was not the most pleasant to watch, but it was positive progress, and during observations Toshiro got to learn a little more about Law. Once Trafalgar learned how to contain the heart without losing it, he could work on transferring it back to the Nobody half it belonged to.

Despite this good progress, Toshiro still had issues with nightmares, as they had expected after losing the music box. In the two nights before their encounter, he'd covered parts of the deck in ice again, barely able to sleep at all. Chopper, Bepo and Dextra all decided to huddle outside with him, the reindeer doing so out of concern as a doctor. Bepo just wanted to help and Dextra, having had many a nightmare herself after her past traumas, thought this would help the best. Her Papa had done the same for her. The three smallest huddled against Bepo's fluffy fur as the bear slept just fine on the submarine's deck.

"He can sleep anywhere, can't he?" Toshiro directed this question to Dextra. It was the early hours of the morning, and they should both be asleep, but despite their companionship and efforts, he couldn't. Chopper was out as well, curled up against a sleeping Hyorinmaru, safe from the icy cold body thanks to his fur.

"Yeah, Bepo's great at sleeping, probably how he makes up for not hibernating." The eagle responded quietly. "Papa tends to use him as a pillow when he doesn't want to go on the island."

"I can see why." Toshiro shifted slightly to be more comfortable up against the large Mink. "Compared to his first mate, Trafalgar never seems to sleep, I can hardly blame him for sneaking in a nap or two with Bepo."

"You can probably relate."

"Ah…"

They went back into silence for a moment. Hyorinmaru stirred drowsily, dragging himself over to rest on his master's lap like a big icy cat. Sleeping buddy gone, Chopper rolled himself over so he was huddled up at the Nobody's side. Toshiro wasn't quite comfortable with everyone crowded so close to him, but since one was his dragon and the other also soft, he let them be.

"Hey, Toshiro." Dextra was the one to break the silence. He made a small noise to show he was listening. "It's about what you told us back at the island… you told me before that the person close to you was hurt by Aizen, not you, and that she was recovering."

"If you're wondering which one is true, they both are." Toshiro's tone had become a bit distant. He was tuning out of his emotions to answer her. "He betrayed her first, and once she recovered from that, tried to help in the war, he used her again, turned me against her because he knew I would want to be the one to run him through. He knew that once I saw her hurt by my hand I would be an easy target. I would no longer care about rules or those around me, I would just want to kill. And it worked. Fortunately, she made it through, and she's back in the job… but the damage was done."

"He wanted to hurt you the most…" Dextra picked at her shoes, unsure what else to do as he told her all of this.

"Yes… I thought it was over, that I could forget it all… but then the darkness dragged me away from my home and preyed on my memories every chance it could, digging deeper and deeper past whatever I thought was right and turning it upside down. At the end of it all… I lost to it, and now I've hurt even more people."

"We really are similar." The eagle sighed. Toshiro looked her way, confused, as last time they had shared stories she had seemed closer to the girl he spoke of rather than himself. "When Papa came to stop the pirate who made me this way, after I was already confused about who I was and what to believe… I was both so relieved and so devastated. I was happy he came to rescue me… but after everything my former master did, I didn't want my Papa to go through the same things. For a while… I… I thought the best way to save him… was to kill him…"

"Well, at least neither of us succeeded at that." Toshiro responded.

The blunt response actually made Dextra laugh a slight bit. She wasn't quite sure if it was him being a Nobody or just a practiced indifference to such situations that made him say it, but it was actually somewhat of a relief to not hear an outpouring of concern or shock. She'd had her time to deal with it, Law had long since forgiven her, in fact had been the one to help her get over it, especially after he realized her intentions and what she had gone through to come to that mindset. Talking to someone who'd gone through a similar trauma was eye opening for her.

"Yeah… I guess that is the silver lining."

"I still blame myself for what happened to Hinamori… but she's always there to remind me that it was beyond my control. I saw her crying about it once… and it reminded me that I'm not the only one suffering about it. She was absolutely blind-sided by someone she trusted completely, more than any of us, and yet she still gets up and smiles and takes care of everyone else. I wish I could be a fraction as strong as she is…"

"If you remember that, why do you still blame yourself?"

"Because of how easy it can happen again." He looked towards her, teal eyes full of shame. "My biggest weakness isn't fire or anything simple… it's how easy I let myself get angry and charge without thinking."

"Seems to work for Luffy."

"Yeah… and it works for a few others I know… but for me, everything just falls apart. I don't have their luck and charisma."

"Sure you do; you found Papa."

Toshiro nodded his head slightly, since she had a good point, and paused to pet Hyorinmaru. Petting ice felt odd, but the dragon seemed to like it, purring in his sleep.

"I really do appreciate what both these crews have done for me… I don't think there will ever be a way to pay everyone back."

"How about not dying?" Dextra offered with a nervous shrug.

There was a small twitch at the corner of his mouth, but otherwise no reply. He didn't like to make promises he couldn't keep.

"You made sure we were prepared for everything coming, even though you said doing so was really bad for you, so I think we can call it even." She tried instead.

"I only did so in the first place for my own benefit. Once it spiraled out of control… I had no choice."

"You still protected us, and even got us past a Marine Admiral!"

The Nobody gave a tired sigh. Dextra frowned, concerned, but had run out of ideas to try and make him feel better, to help him understand that they weren't expecting something grand in return. He was practically a part of the two crews now, and they knew he had nothing to give but everything to lose. They weren't going to make him lose more.

There was the sound of footsteps, the pair looking over to see Thursday exit the submarine. She looked tired, clearly having just woken, but nervous as well.

"Morning." Dextra greeted the older girl, somewhat relieved for someone else to break the awkward tension.

"Mornin… I hope you didn't stay up all night." Hands going to her hips in a trademark motherly pose, Thursday frowned at the eagle child.

"The night kind of flew by…" Dextra used for her excuse, looking away to the ocean with the face of a child caught doing something wrong.

Deciding to let it go, Thursday rolled her eyes and ruffled the younger girl's hair before turning to Toshiro.

"Hey… there's something I want to tell you." The eldest looked nervous again as she spoke.

The Nobody tilted his head in question, but before she could continue, Dextra suddenly shot to her feet and leaned over the railing, looking surprised.

"Marines!" She shouted, looking back to them, expression shocked. How were they found so fast? The last island they had gone to was a Pirate Emperor's, and surely the Marines couldn't have been tracking them after their meeting with Fujitora.

"Uh-oh." Not wasting any more time, Thursday hurried back into the submarine to wake everyone. Toshiro had already shaken the three around him awake, picking up a startled Chopper and Fast Stepping over to the Thousand Sunny to let them all know, Hyorinmaru hurrying through the air after him.

Dextra kept an eye on the Marines while everyone else was alerted, taking in their numbers, speed, anything she could tell them to get them prepared. There were only three ships, a small fleet and therefore unlikely to belong to an Admiral, though this also let them close in faster. There was some damage, suggesting they had recently dealt with a different enemy, either a small pirate crew or the more recent Heartless ships roaming around. That would mean they might be low on supplies, perhaps even a weakened crew, maybe easier to scare off. The sky was beginning to lighten, so there was no more chance to escape into the night. Another morning bout with Marines… hopefully this one was less trouble, she wasn't allowed to go out for the last one since they had been submerged, and with Fujitora on board she couldn't blame Law for wanting to hide her; the purple clad Admiral knew who she was.

Noise on the Sunny let her know that the Straw Hats were up and ready to go, the door of the submarine opening at the same time for a few of the Heart Pirates to come out, a worried Bepo pointing them in the right direction to look.

"How does it look, Dextra?" Jean Bart questioned, spotting their young look out.

"Small fleet, possibly injured, compared to the last one they shouldn't be too much trouble. There are one or two strong people, but not too much for all of us." She listed off, still watching their approach.

"Finally some good news, maybe we can nick some supplies off of them." Volpe grinned, cracking his knuckles.

"I'll go tell Captain." Bepo volunteered, hurrying inside.

On the Sunny, Usopp had determined pretty much the same information as Dextra, the Straw Hats hardly concerned. The sniper suggested they still try to get away, as they did have a way to do so, but Luffy refused as it would leave Law's crew behind. Toshiro wanted to ask what special system the Sunny had to go so fast, but figured now was not a good time.

"Hey, that pink hair looks familiar." Nami's comment got their attention, all turning to where she had her binoculars held up and observing the three ships. The one in lead she of course scanned more, as that was the one the fleet leader would be on.

"What? Let me see!" Curious, Luffy was first to snatch the binoculars with his rubber arms, Nami just scowling at the theft and the others wanting to see as well. "Oh hey! Coby!"

"You know a Marine?" Toshiro looked between them all in confusion. The last fleet they had run into had a man ready to tear Law and Luffy apart, and they had only escaped thanks to said man being a reasonable one and willing to negotiate and look the other way. He had not expected, however, for them to have a friend in the Marines.

"Yeah, Coby's great!" Luffy responded with a huge grin. "Sucks he's not a pirate but he's an awesome guy! Helmeppo too, he's over there."

"Was a whiny, scared brat when we first saw him." Zoro said with a snicker. "And Helmeppo used his dad's name to get away with anything."

"Yeah, that was fun! They grew up fast with my old man training him!"

"Your grandpa is terrifying; you HAVE to grow up fast with a guy like him training you."

"So then… your grandfather is a Marine?" Toshiro was even more baffled at this.

"A highly decorated one too, though not an Admiral." Nami explained. "Even better, Luffy's dad is THE most wanted criminal on the planet, leader of the Revolutionary Army that's trying to take down the World Government."

"You… have an impressive family history."

Luffy just laughed like it was the best joke ever.

"It'll be nice to see Coby and Helmeppo again, if they're not here to take our heads." Robin stated, bringing their attention back to the current problem at hand and away from Luffy's family. It was a complicated line that they didn't have time to think about, and Luffy had made it clear he didn't really care what his dad was, and he continued to be a pirate half for the One Piece and half to spite his ruthless grandfather.

"Oh yeah, I guess we can't always expect them to just say hi." Chopper said in realization. They might know Coby and Helmeppo well, but they were still enemies at the end of the day. "Ah! What if Law's crew attacks first!?"

"Oh, that might be problematic if we want to avoid unnecessary conflict." Brook put a hand over his mouth in a show of concern.

"I can speak with them." Jimbei offered. He didn't know the Marines as well as the others, being newer, but he had seen the young Marine's bravery before and held respect for him. If conflict could be avoided, he would do his best to obtain that goal.

As the fishman jumped over to the submarine to let them know of their connection to this particular fleet, Coby himself was standing by and observing as they caught up with the two ships.

"Are you sure you want to approach with such a small group?" Tebliel asked him shyly, uncertain of this bold move. "After those Heartless ships, your ships aren't in good shape to go up against them."

"Oh, we won't have to fight them." Coby turned to her with a reassuring smile.

"W-we won't?"

"Straw Hat Luffy is actually a good friend of mine, he helped me reach for my dreams and get this far, and his grandfather was my mentor. I'm sure if we let them know about the danger of that boy Luffy will agree and hand him over, maybe even help us."

"What… what if he doesn't? What if they're convinced this boy is good?"

The Captain frowned at that, choosing not to answer. If it came to that, then he would have to choose his duty over friendship and pick a fight. The safety of civilians depended on it. Helmeppo still looked uncertain, as Coby had never been this serious towards Luffy and his crew before unless higher ranking Marines were around.

Behind him, his men got their new weapons ready. Vegapunk had worked quickly, taking the single vial he had been given and creating a mass amount of weaponized serum, using the bird system to deliver it to various fleets. Coby's group had been one such fleet to receive the new weapons, and after the attack from the Heartless ships a few hours ago, they had proved that they worked very effectively.

If the mysterious child did have a Heartless helping him, they would take it out.


	44. An Angel's Goal

The Thousand Sunny lifted their sails, slowing their speed as they did so and allowing the yellow submarine to continue ahead of them some ways before they, too, slowed down. Luffy and his crew might be friends with Coby, but the Heart Pirates preferred to keep out of the way. Toshiro stayed with them, choosing to join Law in his studies of the Heartless while the Marines dropped anchor with the Straw Hats to talk. So far everything was peaceful, none of the Marines even acting that hostile, simply on guard as they should be on the chance things did go south.

"Hey, Coby!" Luffy waved the Captain over happily, completely opposite of the Marines with a carefree posture.

"Good to see you doing well, Luffy." The pink-haired man grinned, choosing to remain on his own ship and just wave back. The distant attitude made some of the more perceptive Straw Hats frown.

"Oh, it's that bird girl." Luffy took notice of Tebliel, recognizing her from the mountain island they had fought the Chaos user in.

Tebliel herself didn't seem too interested in him, looking at each of the other pirates briefly and apparently not spotting whoever she was looking for, turning towards the submarine instead with concern.

"You've met?" Coby asked, curious.

"Briefly, she helped us against a particularly tricky Devil Fruit user." Robin answered.

"Up until she got eaten by a Heartless." Tebliel countered, focused on one task only. She shuffled her wings in a more visible display of worry, Brook giving a shudder as to him they appeared ghostly with little hollow wisps floating off the feathers.

A few of the pirates gave her a dark look, understanding pretty quickly what she was after.

"Maru was mad at her for hurting his friend." Luffy also frowned at her, not liking the accusatory tone.

"Maru?" Coby questioned, the name unfamiliar to him.

"He's Snowy's dragon."

There were a few muttered whispers of surprise among the Marines, Helmeppo looking shocked, the idea of an actual dragon unheard of to them.

"He's a Heartless." Tebliel corrected the rubber man. "Heartless are evil, the only thing they do is consume."

"But Maru isn't like other Heartless." Usopp argued back, his companions looking less friendly with the Human-Mink with every word.

"It ate someone!"

"She was going to kill us!"

"Luffy." Coby's voice broke up their argument, the Captain being spoken to looking back at him with a slight frown, picking up on something wrong with his friend. "This Hitsugaya Toshiro and his Heartless are dangerous. We just want to keep him from hurting anyone."

"Especially those children." Tebliel had her attention back on the submarine, looking worried again. As far as she was concerned, the longer Toshiro stayed over there with them, the more likely he was to hurt them to get away. She wanted to save them.

Something in Coby's eyes flickered, spreading throughout the crew, even Helmeppo's uncertainty replaced with resolve, and though normally he was considered inattentive, Luffy did not miss it. His crew caught on as well in different ways.

"So you called the Marines on us because Hyorinmaru scared you?" Nami scowled at the angel girl. "And those children are Law's, they're perfectly safe."

Tebliel found the courage to shoot a glare at her, clearly not believing her and of the strong belief that Toshiro and his dragon were evil and they were simply fooled by him. If Maleficent, the one who had saved her, was evil, then he could be too.

Over on the submarine, Thursday paled as she noticed who was on the Marine ship with the one that was supposedly a friend to the Straw Hats.

"Oh no…" She muttered aloud, worried. It had taken some time to fight through the haze in her mind after meeting with the Human-Mink, to realize that it was Tebliel who had been fooled, not herself. She had come to realize that the most after what happened on the island with Shanks, seeing how Toshiro had taken a major mental blow and was in desperate need of help. Maleficent had never been someone to trust, and in an attempt to apologize she had worked with Sanji to make sure the Nobody would still eat and get better.

"What's wrong?" Jean Bart asked, also outside as a look out.

"It's the Mink hybrid from the mountains… Tebliel."

"I thought you said she was helpful to all of you."

"Well… there was a detail I left out. I realize now she's probably just been tricked, so I don't think she's bad still… but she works for Maleficent."

The huge pirate clenched his jaw, realizing they might have a problem on their hands if the witch was involved.

"Go tell Captain and the others, I'll keep watch." He ordered. Having been a former Captain before being enslaved by nobles and then rescued by Law, Jean Bart was somewhat used to giving orders. He only did it to the younger or newer members, understanding his place in this crew, but he had enough respect that they listened.

Nodding, Thursday hurried inside, handing over the binoculars to the man before doing so.

She hurried to the infirmary, remembering the rules to knock first, not wanting to cause any potential mistakes since Law was working with a tricky 'patient'. Once she got the okay to come in, she shoved the door open and wasted no time.

"Tebliel is on the ship with the Marines, I don't think this is going to be a friendly meeting." She explained quickly.

"The hybrid Mink? What do you mean?" A confused surgeon asked, allowing the Room to drop so as not to waste energy. Toshiro looked confused as well.

"I'm sorry for not saying so before… I was upset and not in a great place, and I think she took advantage of that, but she works for Maleficent. I don't think she knows any better, but it could mean trouble."

"Tebliel wouldn't be the first one who thought Maleficent was helping them." Toshiro responded with a scowl, Law looking tense. This wasn't a great time for Maleficent to cause trouble.

"I'm sorry, I meant to say something earlier…" Thursday looked away, ashamed. "I didn't know what had happened to you, and she was saying all these good things about Maleficent. For a moment, I believed her."

"I can hardly blame you for doubting me, especially after what happened, the important thing is to figure out what she's up to now. Perhaps we can convince her to realize the truth instead."

"If she's using someone the Straw Hats know well it might not be so easy." Law spoke his doubts aloud, wondering what the angel user's goal was coming to them with Coby.

"I'll go."

"You sure? What if Maleficent is around?" Thursday looked at the Nobody with worry, knowing the dark fairy had an advantage over him right now as the darkness continued to tug at his control.

"I won't be alone." Toshiro replied confidently before hurrying out towards the ship's exit. Law shared a look with his adopted daughter before shrugging and hurrying out as well, Thursday right behind him. It was at least a good sign that Toshiro wasn't running off to fight by himself.

Outside, the tension was already growing thick. Tebliel had the whole Marine crew backing her up, while the Straw Hats all looked irritated and ready to fight. Coby felt like something was wrong with this situation… but he was only concerned about helping the angel-user rescue the children and taking out the Heartless and its master.

There was a gasp from Tebliel.

"It's him!" She shouted, spotting the white hair with black tips exiting the submarine, the dragon on his shoulder in his small form. "And the Heartless!"

Coby motioned to his men to move towards the other ship and deal with the target.

"Coby!" Luffy shouted, looking furious. "Don't do it!"

"He's trying to fight the Heartless too! He's the one who told Fujitora about them!" Chopper added on, pleading.

"He's the informant?" Coby's surprise momentarily made him pause, his trust in the Straw Hats helping him resist the angel's temptation.

As they spoke, Toshiro Flash Stepped the short distance between the two pirate ships, hoping to maybe talk things out once more, unaware of Tebliel's power over them. Hyorinmaru hissed as guns were aimed at him.

"Wait!" The Nobody held his hands up in an attempt to stall for time so he could talk.

Tebliel didn't want to give him that chance.

' _Take out the dragon before it eats us!_ ' She thought fearfully.

The Marines responded. Anti-Heartless bullets tore through the air towards a shocked Reaper and his partner. In an effort to stop the attack before it progressed to a full fight, Luffy jumped in front, his rubbery body taking the impact of the bullets and letting them bounce back at random angles, thankfully not hitting anyone. Nothing with impact could hurt him if it didn't have Haki, bullets were easy to counter.

Unfortunately, he didn't get all of them. Hyorinmaru fell to the deck with a sharp cry, a hole from a lucky shot going through his shoulder that hissed and burned and refused to heal quickly thanks to the serum.

"Oh no!" Chopper was quick to rush over, a distressed Toshiro picking up his dragon carefully, but there was not much he could do for a creature of shadow and ice.

"They've already weaponized it?" Robin spoke with surprise, noticing the reaction it had on the Heartless.

"Look here, you shits, that was uncalled for." Sanji growled, standing up on the railing and seconds from kicking the lights out of every Marine on the other ships. Zoro stood next to him with a menacing scowl, partly unsheathing one of his blades.

"He's our friend, Coby, so if you're going after him then we'll have to fight!" Luffy shouted out a challenge full of rage.

"He's a Nobody with a Heartless!" Tebliel challenged back, though she kept behind a few Marines in case those rubber arms decided to throw a punch. "He's tricking you!"

"And Maleficent is tricking you!" Thursday's voice cut through, the yellow submarine much closer now. Next to the tall young woman was a few of her crewmates, including Dextra, Book, Bepo and their Captain. "I don't know what she told you, Tebliel, but Toshiro is not your enemy!"

"I already know Maleficent lied to me… so how can you be so sure he isn't lying to you!?" Concerned that Thursday was arguing against her, the Human-Mink tried to reason with her. Her focus now elsewhere, Coby shook his head and turned back to the Straw Hats, all tensed for a battle. He suddenly had no clue what was going on, or why Luffy looked so angry at him. The pink haired man headed over to the side of the ship, motioning the pirate Captain over so as not to draw Tebliel's attention. Curious, Luffy's expression loosened up a bit, wondering if his friend was back to normal.

"Because he's done nothing but try his best to stop the Heartless!" Thursday kept the angel's attention on her. "You said Maleficent wanted to help him… we all know for a fact she's been trying to control him! She made you think he's bad and needs help because she wanted to use him, Tebliel!"

On the Sunny, Hyorinmaru finally managed to shed off the serum – greatly helped by Chopper removing the bullet in his shoulder – and was able to start healing, though he was understandably furious. Relieved his partner was okay, Toshiro tried to keep him calm, hoping the conversations going on around them was a sign they could turn this back around.

Indeed, Tebliel did look somewhat unsure about her choices thus far, and the cracks in her confidence meant her allure over the Marines was wearing off. Coby was talking quietly to Luffy, understanding what was going on, and motioned to his now clear-headed crew to back off. The lowered weapons let the pirates relax somewhat, but there were still some heated glares in Tebliel's direction. Helmeppo stepped over next to Coby, quietly asking what to do about her, but Coby whispered back to wait.

"But one of you got killed because of him, I just want to make sure the rest of you are safe." This was the last excuse Tebliel had for her actions, far reaching as it was. It did make Thursday flinch as painful memories returned, and the Heart Pirates all turned furious, but it did not make them sympathetic to her.

"How true, those who try to walk the same path as the Heavenly Guardian are bound to perish." The malicious voice that echoed over them made them all tense. Green fire followed, bringing their attention around to Coby's ship, the witch appearing with several dog-like Heartless that snapped their jaws at any poor Marine who got too close. "It is a fate that binds him."

"Not true!" Toshiro snapped at her, standing back up on the railing with a bristling Hyorinmaru on his shoulder again, though the dragon held one of his wings closer to his body, still healing. "It's you and Xehanort and all who follow you that cause this pain."

"Your existence in their lives is what brings our attention to them in the first place." Maleficent sneered back, going for the topics she knew hit him the hardest.

"Ma'am, I must ask you to leave." Coby hid his wariness of her well as he kept up an air of command. "This is my ship, and it's clear you are with the Heartless."

"Oh, how polite." She chuckled. "I simply came to collect my poor servant here."

When she motioned to Tebliel, the Marines took aim, both at Maleficent herself and at a startled and frightened Mink hybrid.

"Well, so much for chivalry." Looking at the soldiers disapprovingly, Maleficent scowled. "Come along, little angel, I still have a use for you."

"A use?" Tebliel's voice broke a bit with her reply, feathers ruffled and shaky. "You… you saved me from those horrible people… people who enslaved me. But… but you control those things!" She pointed shakily at the Heartless. "These dark creatures that eat hearts…"

"Quite useful, aren't they?" Maleficent ran a hand over one of the dog Heartless as if petting it. It didn't really respond, just snapped at a Marine trying to sneak around behind them and causing the man to fall back to get away. "Don't worry, my dear, as long as you obey me you don't have to worry about them."

"You told me they were evil! That's why you said he was dangerous!" Tebliel pointed over to Toshiro, the Nobody watching this interaction carefully, trying to figure out what Maleficent wanted to use this scared woman for.

"I wanted you to think as such because I needed you to use your power to control him." Maleficent basically gave him the answer, sighing heavily. "Time is a tad short now, however, so if you're going to betray me, then I suppose I have no choice." She slammed the end of her staff down, darkness flowing over the ship faster than they could react, latching onto their feet and beginning to drag the shocked Marines down. Tebliel only just managed to lift herself into the sky, startled. "You will all become my Heartless!"

"Coby!" Luffy, still on the railing of the Marine ship, latched onto the pink-haired man, wrapping around several times with his rubber arms. But the darkness would not release, Coby continuing to sink no matter how much Luffy pulled.

Light flashed and the darkness pulled back, allowing the Marines to escape and stand again, showing their pride as soldiers as they shook off their fear and aimed their weapons once more, though a few did look to see what had happened. Toshiro had jumped over, Keyblade in hand letting off the light that had saved them. The humans freed and his shoulder healed, Hyorinmaru lifted into the air, growing in size while gathering energy between open jaws.

"Stubborn beast!" Maleficent moved her staff through the air in front of her as if slicing at it, green fire following the motion and launching at the Heartless. A breath of ice was released from his jaws, clashing with the fire and canceling out. By now he was almost as big as the Sunny, meaning his next attacks would scale up as well and be much stronger.

The Heartless she had brought with her leapt, going after whoever was closest. The Marines took fire, their new ammo serving them well to keep the dark dogs back and eliminating them. Helmeppo proved to be a practiced swordsman, using a pair of kukiri blades to take out the Heartless, the edge of the blades containing a slight sheen to show it had been coated in the serum. Two Heartless came at Coby and Luffy, the pair taking stances to fight with their fists, but a thrown Keyblade saved them the trouble, ice covering a small circle around where the odd blade embedded into the deck of the ship.

"Thanks for the assistance." Coby turned to the Nobody, who returned the smile with a look of surprise instead. "I heard you were the informant Fujitora had on the Heartless. Don't worry, I won't say anything, but your information and the serum were greatly appreciated."

"It was the least I could do, though it was painfully ironic that the cure I gave you got used on my own partner." Toshiro turned to look at Maleficent who was currently busy holding off said partner.

"I sincerely apologize for that…" The Marine Captain, hoping to show his appreciation, picked up the Keyblade from where it stuck into the ship and handed it back, though he did wonder why the smaller figure was giving him a surprised look.

"Oi, quit chatting!" Zoro's gruff yell caught their attention as he jumped over and joined them, cutting down a new wave of Heartless that had appeared at the dark fairy's command.

Luffy needed no further encouragement, launching a punch right at Maleficent. Spotting this, she scowled and conjured up a large bellied Heartless, the fist bouncing right off.

On the submarine, Law created a Room, letting it reach over all of the ships.

" _Takt!_ " In response to the upward movement of his hands, steel pipes – he made sure to pick ones not required for structural soundness - within the Marine ship stabbed upwards, impaling multiple Heartless.

"What nuisances!" Emerald flames blazed around Maleficent, engulfing her and growing larger. Panicked, the Marines all jumped to the other two ships to escape the flames. Luffy, Zoro, Toshiro and Coby jumped over to the Sunny instead, turning back to see what she was up to. Letting out a roar of challenge, Hyorinmaru landed on the now empty ship, his weight shifting the whole thing.

The flames dispersed, revealing a second huge black dragon, this one with four legs and a pair of tiny see-through wings that were unlikely to carry her in flight. Her eyes glowed a sickly green, matching the usual color of her magic, mouth and underbelly a dark purple-gray. Her roar was like the hiss of a hundred snakes, piercing and making them shudder. Hyorinmaru roared back, icy spines bristling same as her own sharp spikes as the two dragons faced off.

"We should try to get out of here." Law suggested to his crew with a scowl, seeing the two Marine ships moving away to give the main ship a wide berth with the two dragons fighting on it, likely going to destroy it.

"But the others." Dextra pointed over to the Sunny.

"They'll be fine, let's go."

Just before they could get the submarine turned around and heading away, a rush of wind brought their attention back.

Tebliel had landed on their deck.


	45. Fending Off the Dark Fairy For Now

"You best get off my ship." Law growled at the Human-Mink, using every bit of his intimidation and authority. The angel user shrunk under his gaze yet stayed where she was, a look of apology on her face. But Law wanted no apology from her. Tricked or not, she put his crew in danger and tried to take his children from him, and no amount of ignorance would let him forgive that.

Dextra went into full animal form before landing on the railing behind Tebliel, wings spread in intimidation. Tebliel whipped around to her with surprise, the huge eagle quite a terrifying sight. No one could take her older sister away, and no one could get away with attacking her friends, Toshiro included among them. Law made no command to stop her.

Just past them, the Marine ship rocked violently as Hyorinmaru knocked Maleficent down, aiming to tear through her neck once he had her pinned, but a breath of fire backed him off. He stumbled back, the ship rocking the other way. Standing, Maleficent whipped her tail around, knocking the Heartless off completely. Snarling, Hyorinmaru dove into the water.

"Did she win?" Coby grimaced, concerned they would have to fight her themselves.

"Hardly, Maru is right where he wants to be." Zoro smirked. Coby looked between them for an explanation, but they didn't need to give him one.

The Marine ship was lifted up into the air, almost completely flipped over, Hyorinmaru's head having slammed into it from underneath. He was now easily bigger than the Marine ships. Maleficent stumbled from the violent movement of the ship, able to keep her footing using the cabin walls as a temporary floor until the front end dropped back into the water. She had to wait until the ship steadied before she could focus on anything else, and in the meantime, Hyorinmaru's huge jaws snatched at the ship, tearing right through the metal, barely missing the other dragon as she moved aside. If she took a bite like that she would be in huge trouble. Fighting Hyorinmaru in the sea had been a terrible decision, she had just grown tired of running. Her green fire seemed to be nothing more than a bother to him in his current size, though it did make him snarl and try to snap at her again. Flames not working fast enough, she pounced him while his jaws were busy with the metal, clawing off his icy armor and making him reel back.

"No wonder she wants to control him." Tebliel muttered as she watched the drakes fight, eyes wide. The fear of Hyorinmaru only increased, knowing that dragon could easily turn on her once he knew the angel user's connection to Maleficent. And he was using the water to his advantage, meaning as a Devil Fruit user she had no chance. The only thing even keeping up the Marine ship at this point was Maleficent's magic, since she couldn't fly, the vessel torn and broken by the Heartless.

"And you tried to help her with that." Thursday accused, Tebliel turning back to her as if just remembering where she was.

"I-I didn't know…I just wanted to help you. She saved me… from an auction house… she acted like she cared about helping children and I wanted to do the same so no one had to be like me. I didn't realize she was the reason those monsters are even here, she said it was the Nobody doing it."

"Toshiro can't summon Heartless, he only has Hyorinmaru because that's his other half, Papa's trying to turn him back to his normal self so they can stop people like Maleficent."

"I… I didn't know…"

"Clearly." Law scoffed, not accepting the excuse. "Now get off."

"I just…" Tebliel moved towards the edge, wings opening to leave, but cast one last glance at Thursday. The older girl did look sympathetic, but said nothing to help her. Law stepped between them with a scowl; Doflamingo had already taken them once, doing permanent mental damage to one, and he lost another to the Heartless, he wasn't about to let either situation happen again, no matter what good intentions the Human-Mink had.

Tebliel made no further argument, looking a bit scared, and took off. They watched her go high up into the air before turning back to the dragons.

A burst of lightning came off the Sunny, where they turned to see Toshiro had a hand held up, using Kido. The attack slammed into Maleficent's side, preventing her from striking at Hyorinmaru's face again as the Heartless took another chunk out of the ship. She hissed in fury, emerald eyes turning to look at the Nobody as her next target, darkness lashing out at him. He tensed, knowing what that darkness intended to do, but was surprised when a bolt of lightning from a different source dispersed it.

"Do I hit that smaller dragon next, master?" Zeus the thundercloud looked to Nami.

"Go for it!" The navigator grinned, looking proud of herself. Toshiro sent her a silent thanks, to which she winked back, and focused back on his dragon.

"Try some of this!" Usopp shot something over, the seed bursting into a huge plant shaped like a wolf with a bright red nose. " _Midori Boshi: Impact Wolf!_ "

Maleficent turned to the wolf plant in surprise, not expecting anything like it, and took the hit to her side. The seed that made its nose explode into a shockwave, knocking her off her feet and stunning her.

"I don't think I've seen that one." Toshiro said to the sniper, impressed.

"I've got tons more!" Usopp smirked, ready to grab another pop green if the dark fairy turned dragon got back up.

Hyorinmaru wasn't going to let her recover, smashing his body down and completely crushing the Marine ship while she couldn't hold it up with her magic. He, the ship, and any sight of Maleficent all vanished under the water.

"Well, it's unfortunate I lost my ship, but it could have been worse." Coby said with a nervous laugh. "Fortunately it looks like no one got too hurt."

"Coby!" Helmeppo called out, the remaining two ships having sailed around to be behind the Sunny out of range of the fighting dragons. Now that things seemed safer, they moved closer to get their commanding officer off the pirate ship.

Just before Coby moved over to his soldiers, the water churned, green fire lifting back into the sky. Maleficent was not done, but she seemed to decide this was too much trouble to continue and the fire took off away from them before Zeus could attack, likely to find a place to recover her energy. Hyorinmaru returned above the waves as well, much smaller so as to fit on the Thousand Sunny. Coby watched the dragon warily, Hyorinmaru returning the gaze, remaining quiet, waiting to be provoked.

"I am sorry we shot at you." Coby spoke first, holding his hands up slightly with a light smile to show he meant no threat. "It's been made very apparent you are unlike normal Heartless."

The dragon gave a snort.

"He's not happy about it, but he understands why you did it." Toshiro translated. "Under different circumstance we might have been working together, so I know me traveling with pirates is less than ideal."

"And yet you have still risked it all to keep people safe." Coby's kind smile was unexpected considering everyone else Toshiro had met so far. Compared to the cautious Fujitora, Coby completely trusted him, and was even okay with being on a pirate ship.

"There is… something I'd like to ask you to do… before you go." The Nobody's cautious tone made Coby tilt his head in question. He was briefly distracted as Law appeared on board using his powers, along with Dextra – back to human form – Thursday and Bepo, but otherwise kept his attention on Toshiro's request. His soldiers observed carefully, hands still on triggers just in case, especially since Law was more likely to lash out at their Captain than Luffy since the latter was a friend of Coby's.

Holding his left hand out, Toshiro brought back his Keyblade. Now that they weren't worrying about Heartless, Coby got a better look at it, realizing just how strange a weapon it was.

"I think you have one of these now." Toshiro said, holding his in front of him.

"Eh!?" Several pirates exclaimed in surprise while Coby still looked confused.

"When you picked this up earlier, I saw it glow. The last time it did that, the one who was holding it awakened their own." He left out the person's name, as he rightly guessed telling the Marines that Shanks had a new magical weapon would not bode well in the future. It would not bode well for him now, either, if they knew he gave a new power to a Pirate Emperor.

"What is it?" Coby was intrigued, but still completely lost about what it was he was being told and why the Straw Hats looked so shocked.

Getting better at explaining the Keyblade and its purpose, it didn't take long for the Nobody to summarize everything for the Marine to understand. Or, at the least, to understand the same amount Toshiro did.

"Amazing, so normally only these things could destroy the Heartless?" Coby had more appreciation of the news now.

"That's one of their bigger purposes. I don't know when you will awaken yours or what you can do with it, it changes per person and I'm by no means an expert, but you are at least capable of using it now."

"These things are picky, aren't they?" Sanji observed, holding onto the Keyblade when Toshiro allowed him to only for it to return to its master quickly, the cook scowling. He was not a chosen it seemed.

"Which is why I'm surprised it passed on to two different people in less than a week." Toshiro agreed with him.

"Well, I wish I could have time to learn more from you, but now that things have blown over I'm afraid I'll have to be on my way." Coby did look a little disappointed he couldn't get some training with this Keyblade – if it was indeed there – but still offered a friendly smile, grateful for the information he did get. "If I remain I'll have to take up arms before anyone gets suspicious."

"Yes, it would not be ideal if we had to fight." Jimbei returned the grin, realizing now why Luffy and the others still liked Coby despite being on opposite sides.

Once again, Coby's shift back to his own ships was halted, this time by a flutter of wings. Tebliel had come back, still feeling obliged to apologize for her actions, especially to the one she manipulated and the one she had targeted. She had hesitated, seeing as Law and the two children from earlier were on the Sunny now, but after hearing about the Keyblades and their purpose she wanted more than ever to apologize, realizing just how wrong her thoughts about Toshiro had been. He was anything but evil.

As soon as she came in sight, Hyorinmaru startled them all with an angry snarl in her direction, the air turning bitter cold as the dragon gave her ample warning to leave. It was the Human-Mink's fault they were in this situation, that his master had been targeted and himself shot, he would not forgive easily.

"Wait, Hyorinmaru, let's not do that yet." Toshiro responded to whatever dark thoughts the dragon had, as the Nobody had noticed Tebliel was not here in a hostile sense, currently cowering under the dragon's golden glare.

"She was told to leave." Dextra argued, an angry scowl on her own face as she returned to eagle form despite her captain's protests, flying over closer to Tebliel in a threatening manner. This one had tried to take her older sibling away, had come after her family, she was lucky Dextra didn't go full harpy and take her out.

Coby looked at the eagle with wide eyes, now able to recognize her from the Wanted posters.

"So you're the one who was with Doflamingo." He spoke aloud.

Dextra stiffened at the name, looking at Coby in surprise. Law scowled; this is exactly what he wanted to avoid, but she had insisted on coming to check on everyone, promising to behave. Tebliel returning had thrown that out the window.

Noticing the reaction these two had, Toshiro had an important piece to the puzzle that was Dextra's odd behaviors and a nightmare of Law's past. There was still more to know, but having a name was a huge step.

"I-I'm sorry, I was going to leave, I just wanted to-to apologize." Tebliel's quiet, nervous voice reminded them she was still there.

"You almost got us killed!" Chopper snapped back.

"And controlled Coby!" Usopp added just as loudly, the man mentioned looking a bit sullen at the reminder. Tebliel flinched at both accusations, curling her wings slightly around her as if to hide.

"I just… I thought that… I thought I was helping…"

"If you'd like to help, we could always use some information on that Maleficent woman, and you were closest to her." Coby offered, his kind smile ever present.

"But… I manipulated you…" The angel user looked surprised, as did a few others.

"That's true, Coby, are you sure you should be trusting her!?" Helmeppo called over with a scowl on his face.

"Well then, I'll guess you'll have to make it up to me." The Marine Captain said to the Human-Mink with a small laugh. "Besides, these guys don't look too happy with you, so I'm just doing my duty to protect a citizen who escaped an evil master." He winked.

Tebliel looked over the pirates briefly. The majority of them were still glaring at her, and she could sense their hostility, especially from the dragon, Dextra and Law. Though shocked, she had to admit going with Coby was the safest option; she didn't know how far away another island was to be flying off on her own.

"O-okay." She agreed.

Now that the interruptions were over, Coby was able to rejoin his men, Tebliel following them in a subdued manner, Helmeppo watching her closely. The two pirate ships remained anchored for a moment longer while the Marines headed off, moving out of sight over the horizon.

"Jeez, we'll never catch a break will we?" Usopp seemed to deflate as he relaxed the tension out of his body and fell onto the grass.

"I can still leave." Toshiro replied, though this time his words didn't have any weight behind them.

"Not without Maru." Nami said with a wink, holding up a plate of watermelon treats. Zeus was in a tiny cloud form munching on some thunder infused weather orbs. It seemed bribing with treats was her ultimate technique.

Shifting into his smaller form, the dragon darted over to land on her shoulder, long draconic neck allowing him to grab one before she moved it away.

"Traitor." The Nobody grumbled at his partner.

' ** _They're good._** ' Hyorinmaru argued.

"The great Heavenly Guardian trained to Nami's will." Brook couldn't help a chuckle.

Normally the dragon would growl and argue, but as Nami offered another treat he chose to ignore the comment instead, only serving to prove the skeleton right.

"I would appreciate if you didn't spoil him." Toshiro sighed.

"I'm not spoiling him; I'm just making an offering to our guardian spirit." The navigator winked again.

"You're a thief!"

"We should probably get a move on before any other Marines show up." Law cut in, looking somewhat irritated, though whether it was them or Coby recognizing Dextra they weren't sure. The eagle child was back to her human self, looking a bit spooked.

"But we gotta celebrate beating dragon lady!" Luffy argued. By the drool around his mouth it was clear he just wanted an excuse to eat a ton of food.

"We didn't even beat her, she ran off!" Sanji pointed out to the Captain.

"That's still beating her!"

"I am kind of hungry." Brook patted where his stomach would be.

"Same." Franky added with a grin.

"I'll help you Sanji!" Thursday offered, Law watching with disapproval as Sanji accepted making the feast only after her suggestion.

"Let's raise anchor while they work on the food." Robin said with a smile up to Franky. He saluted her and went to go do just that.

Satisfied they were at least moving on like he wanted, Law used his Room to return to his own ship, allowing Dextra and Bepo to stay with the Straw Hats, the latter looking excited for some grilled fish.

Seeing that Dextra hadn't hurried over to join everyone like the Mink, Toshiro approached her.

"Judging by your reaction, this Doflamingo is the one you were mentioning to me before?" He asked her quietly, not wanting to push her if it made her uncomfortable.

She nodded slightly.

"He's our Aizen basically." Her voice was small, almost hard to hear with the rowdy Straw Hats behind him. "Like that Captain said… Doflamingo was the one to train me as the harpy. And he did a lot of bad things to Papa when he was little, so the way that man trained me upsets Papa a lot. That's why he hates using the commands, cause that man was really… twisted."

"You don't have to explain further, I just wanted to confirm things." Toshiro reached over and patted her head. He had noticed this helped calm her sometimes when her siblings or Law did it. He used to do it for Momo as well when she was truly upset. "He told me a few things while we were studying the Heartless, since I told everyone about what happened with Aizen."

"He told you about Corazon?" Dextra looked surprised; Law had a hard time talking about those days.

"Very vaguely, and not with any names, but I assume that's who he meant, yes. Mostly he mentioned how he had lost a sister and a mentor as well and understood why I got so upset a few days back talking about it. You and the Straw Hats weren't the only ones trying to help me." He smiled briefly. "We were able to relate to each other for a bit, and surprisingly that helped."

"I'm… I'm glad." Dextra grinned, her sadness starting to fade away. "You do seem to feel a lot better recently, other than the nightmares."

"Yes, unfortunately no amount of personal talks with everyone will stop those." The Nobody sighed. "But I promise I won't try to run off or anything bad, not anymore."

"Good!"

"Ouch! Maru, why'd you bite me!?" Luffy's angry cry made them turn back to the others. Apparently Luffy had tried to snatch a treat, too impatient to wait for Sanji and Thursday to feed him. As a result, Hyorinmaru had snapped at him. The dragon growled back in response.

"Don't worry, Maru, there's plenty for you~." Nami cooed to the Heartless, and Toshiro was startled to see her petting the dragon without any aggressive response. In fact, Hyorinmaru seemed to purr.

"Oi!" Toshiro scowled, irritated she had somehow tamed his partner.

Normally, Toshiro would have kept to himself, but he found himself pulled in before he knew it, trying to get his dragon to leave Nami as the navigator continued to entice the Heartless with watermelon candies. Chopper and Usopp poked fun at the Reaper where they dared, Toshiro scowling at them but presenting no threat. Dextra, hoping to help, showed off her own thief skills as she snatched the candies from Nami and brought them over to Toshiro, his dragon following quickly, and the Nobody smirked at the startled Nami, high-fiving the eagle girl. Luffy laughed as he watched before trying to take some of the candies for himself again, only to pull his hand away when Hyorinmaru gave him an ice cold bite, again. Don't steal from a dragon. The Straw Hat Captain challenged the dragon, Toshiro laughing when his partner refused out of spite.

As the feast came out of the kitchen, the festivities were split between the two ships, members of each crew on both ships. Brook's music echoed into the sky along with cheers and laughter. It was the first time Toshiro had actually felt like participating, even if he didn't join in with drinks. The darkness was still there, lingering in the back of his thoughts, trying to drag him back to the state he was in a few days back that had scared everyone. But it was much easier to ignore that now. He trusted these pirates, something that was very, VERY hard for him to do… and it changed everything.


	46. The Coming Storm

The festivities started to settle down, the party-worn pirates finding anywhere and everywhere to take a quick nap. After such a rowdy breakfast, lunch was smaller and far more quiet, choosing to just enjoy a quiet day. A light fog settled around them, Nami reporting that they were approaching a Winter island and its weather made the fog. Nothing to worry about. No one wanted to think about the potential dangers waiting for them, as no one had forgotten how many dangerous people were coming after Toshiro.

Toshiro himself hadn't forgotten either, but for a few hours he could pretend he had. With things settling down, he set about trying to form a plan should the dreaded immortal Soul Reaper show up. Robin and Law were trying to help where they could, Robin being a better strategist than her own Captain, as otherwise it would have been a meeting between just Captains.

"I'm guessing there's more to Aizen than just immense power?" Law questioned, wanting to know their new opponent better since they had already learned what they could about Xehanort – or at the least his Nobody Xemnas – and Maleficent.

"Spiritual Pressure capable of vaporizing the average human, able to cast the highest level Kido spells to their max ability without the full chant, expert in all forms of combat." Toshiro listed off, his scowl deepening with each one. "The bastard is practically a god."

"How did you beat him before?" Robin wondered. Someone so strong was quite the mountain to conquer, and while her crew had conquered many, this was not a human with a Devil Fruit. This was an immortal spirit.

"With some tricky timing and back up plans on back up plans that involved every person possible, a Substitute Soul Reaper managed to gain enough power to overwhelm even the abilities the Hogyoku gave him."

"Substitute?" She looked curious.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is… well, he's actually still a living human."

"A human beat a god?" Law looked surprised.

"Kurosaki is… something else. Thanks to his vast wellspring of power and the fact he's not a Soul Reaper and so wasn't around to get sucked into Aizen's Complete Hypnosis when he set it up on the rest of us, he was the only one who could fight him on even ground. He lost all his Soul Reaper powers after the fight with Aizen for about two years until he got them back with some help. But even then it's not nearly enough to beat Aizen again..."

"Now we have the opposite problem; you're the only Soul Reaper here, but you're under his power." Law mused aloud with a frown, trying to figure out how a bunch of humans could get around the strength of such a strong spirit.

"At the least all of you are strong enough he can't destroy you just by standing near you." Toshiro explained. "The other problem is his intelligence. He had been planning the Winter War since before he even joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. We have some advantage since this is a completely different world with powers he doesn't know anything about, and he at least can't control water, so the Devil Fruit weakness can't be exploited short of tossing you in the ocean, but he adapts quickly. He's been less cautious since he got his immortality, so there's a small chance we can use his new arrogance against him, but unfortunately that arrogance was somewhat well earned. It won't be easy."

"And I suppose if he can't be killed, we need to find some way of immobilizing him."

"Yes, but unfortunately I don't know the Kido that was used to seal him the first time, and the one who created the Kido isn't in reach."

' ** _Don't you still have your Soul Pager?_** ' Hyorinmaru asked, lying next to his master.

The pirates looked confused when Toshiro's expression turned to one of shock, watching as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"I honestly forgot I had this…" Refraining from the urge to slap himself for his stupidity, Toshiro gave the phone a long hard look. He could call for help, tell them where he was and what was going on… but did he have time? There would be so many questions, and at this point he wasn't sure how the Soul Society would react to everything he had done here, all the rules he had violated. It may end up only worsening his situation.

"That lets you call home, doesn't it?" Law questioned, remembering his engineers mentioning something about it after Toshiro showed it to them on the mountain island.

"Yes."

"If there was ever a time for reinforcements, it would be now, wouldn't it?" Robin asked, wondering why the Nobody hesitated.

"I just… there's no telling how long it would take them to find this place, or if they would bother now…" His grip around the phone tightened a slight bit, anxious. Thinking like the Central Forty-Six, he wouldn't be surprised if they decided to find a way to close off this world with him and Aizen in it rather than bother dealing with the traitor again just to save one person. He certainly knew they wouldn't care what happened to this world and its people. Even before making friends with the pirates, Toshiro would not have been okay with that, even more so now. He couldn't let himself be trapped here, and he definitely couldn't let these people suffer for his mistakes.

"What about Sora?" Robin asked, remembering the young Keyblade Wielder Hyorinmaru had mentioned before. Law looked confused, not recognizing the name.

"He would definitely help… but he doesn't have a Soul Pager, at least that I know of."

"Hm, that is unfortunate."

"Sora?" Law asked for clarification.

"He's part of the group I travelled with when I was taken from my world, one of the people I left behind when I became a Nobody. Hyorinmaru told me he and Riku, a friend of Sora's, made it out of the world of darkness, but I have no idea where they are or how to get in touch with them."

"Is there no one among the Soul Reapers who would be on your side? Any who would go with Sora?" Robin was hopeful.

"A few… but whether or not they will be allowed is another thing. The only Soul Reaper not restricted by rules is Kurosaki, and that's just because he chooses not to be, especially if the safety of his friends is at stake."

"Oh, he sounds like Luffy." The archeologist smiled.

"That's pretty much where the similarity ends, though… honestly he's more like Zoro out of anyone here."

"Are you able to contact this Substitute then?" Law tried a different idea.

"Not directly. Since he's not an official Soul Reaper he doesn't have a Soul Pager either, but I should be able to get in touch with someone who can then contact him without the Soul Society getting in the way." Idea in mind, Toshiro finally turned the small device back on.

"Worst case it will just be us, so we still need a plan." Law sighed. "Knowing you Straw Hats, stealth is not very practical, especially since the Soul Reapers can sense Spirit Energy."

"I agree, there won't be much point to silence if he will know where we are regardless." Robin said with a nod. "Starting at a distance might be advantageous, with Usopp's Pop Greens, Nami's storms and Zeus, as well as Franky's robot, we might be able to distract his attention and do some damage."

While the pair discussed their two crew's strengths and weakness against the mysterious power of Aizen, Toshiro looked for a certain number within his contacts. He was surprised to see one person had made multiple attempts to get in contact with him. Scrolling through them, he realized with some guilt that Sora had borrowed Yoruichi's Soul Pager and had tried to call every day in the hopes he would pick up, leaving short text messages after those didn't work about what he was doing and where in case Toshiro couldn't answer. No matter what, Sora never gave up on him, doing his best to send hope that they would find their friend. With Sora holding a Soul Pager, things became much easier, and Toshiro quickly went to reply, keeping his report short as well to avoid a delay in sending the message.

He had just finished typing up a brief description of his location, an apology for not responding, and was about to add in a warning about Aizen and Xehanort when his attention was pulled away by Dextra letting out a gasp. The trio looked over to her, Law standing immediately with a worried look. Her hands had gone up over her mouth, her eyes wide. She was sensing something. Concerned, Law and Robin hurried over to her side, trying to ask what was wrong but not getting anything from her. Toshiro would have followed after quickly hitting send on the message if he hadn't caught on to what she had, only able to when he stretched his senses out.

The feeling of overwhelming pressure, the sharp, silent, ruthless feeling of one who didn't care for those around him. There was only one person it could belong to, and he recognized it instantly. This was no fluke this time, no illusion cast by Xemnas. This was the real deal.

"Aizen." His voice shook as he said the name out loud.

The others looked to him, still confused, frowning as they noticed how pale he had gone.

"THAT'S him!?" Dextra's voice had gone high-pitched as she looked to Toshiro in horror. "THIS is Aizen!?"

She was sensing more than Toshiro was. Mixed in with the ruthless power of a being considered a god by Soul Reapers were the screams and agony of thousands upon thousands of souls, a cry echoing over them demanding more, more, MORE. It was this intense crowd of tortured minds that sent her to her knees, shaking.

There was a brief, intense energy that flowed over the two ships. Those not as sensitive as Dextra and Toshiro got a taste of what it was they had noticed. Everyone was on edge in seconds, several looking spooked, a brief image of a tall, brown-haired man with a sinister smile appearing in their thoughts.

"He noticed us." Toshiro explained as he saw their alert stances and wide eyes. "Or rather, he noticed me."

"W-W-What was that?" Usopp shuddered, taking a few steps back, though nothing was in sight to back away from.

"He's a nightmare, that's for sure." Zoro said with a scowl, returning his blade to his sheath after having armed himself on instinct.

"There's something ahead!" Jimbei called out, pointing.

Following his gaze into the fog, there was a shape silhouetted in the distance. The Sunny was forced to stop short as they reached land faster than they were expecting, the submarine following suit quickly. Just touching the end of the bank where the island dropped off into deep ocean, they could see that the shape was a ship. Two ships, in fact, that had wrecked onto the snowy shore.

Two Marine ships.

"Oh no, did Coby come this way?" Brook gasped, shocked.

Whether it was Coby and his crew or not, Toshiro wasted no time, Hyorinmaru merging into his shadow before he Flash Stepped over to the shore to see if anyone was left. There was no doubt Aizen had done this, he could sense traces of the other's Spirit Energy, though his reason for doing so was unclear. Did he realize Coby had come into contact with him? Was he just trying to get information? He had not warned the Marines about Aizen, thinking they wouldn't need to concern themselves with the Soul Reaper if Aizen was after him specifically.

There was a glow within the fog. Toshiro followed it quickly, noticing the Spirit Energy of a group of humans surrounding it, as well as the energy of an active Devil Fruit. It was Tebliel for sure. What was she having to use her fruit for? Once he got close enough it didn't take long to figure it out. The angel had healing powers, a pale yellow glow over her body and seeping over the ground. The surviving Marines, including their Captain Coby and the Lieutenant Commander Helmeppo, were huddled in this circle of light and being slowly healed. They all looked completely exhausted and spooked, and their injuries seemed to be from the destruction of their ships. Despite their losses, they were lucky. If Aizen had fought with them, they would all be dead. Coby in particular was shaking just as badly as Dextra had, eyes wide as if he had witnessed something horrible. Tebliel was trying her best to comfort him while maintaining her power, Helmeppo looking concerned.

"It's you!" She called out upon noticing him. "You should run, there's this horrible man, he took out their ships with some kind of magic!"

"I know who it is." Toshiro responded to her, causing her expression to switch to one of surprise. "You're lucky that's all he did. Where did he go?"

"Back into the fog…you're not going up against something like that on your own, are you? He feels… wrong."

"Normally I would, but not this time, not until I find out what he's after." In truth he had a pretty good guess what the other Reaper was after, but he couldn't be sure with someone like Aizen. "You should all stay here."

"No problems there, that guy was a monster." A Marine stated with a shudder.

"No way we can go against something like that." Helmeppo said with a shaky voice.

Toshiro turned to look at Coby. The pink-haired man had yet to even register that Toshiro was there. If the Nobody had to guess he would assume this Marine had the same level of perception to those around him as Dextra, and could therefore notice just how immense Aizen's power was. Not just that, but the cries of many souls trapped in a hell they couldn't comprehend. It was not an easy feeling to ignore.

There was a shout behind him and he turned to see the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates hurrying to catch up with him from the fog, the ships safely anchored.

"Coby! You okay!? Chopper shouted as they joined Toshiro by the Marine group.

"When we got close to the island he froze up; he couldn't seem to hear us after that." A Marine explained when Coby didn't respond. Due to the circumstance that all these crews were here, the soldiers were setting aside their hatred for pirates in favor of paying their enemy back for attacking them.

"Dextra did the same thing, and they both have very perceptive Observation Haki." Law mused, stepping over to check on the Captain with Chopper. The Marines still looked tense at their close proximity, keeping an eye on the two doctors, but did not stop them.

"It's possible they're sensing the Hogyoku as well." Toshiro spoke up. When he got confused stares – more so from the Marines – he continued. "From what I remember being told about it, the Hogyoku was made by sacrificing several thousand souls with high Spirit Energy. To make an item that makes someone immortal and with the powers of a god, it needs a lot of sacrifices."

"He's immortal?" Helmeppo gaped, his fellow Marines paling as they learned this information for the first time, a dread settling in their gut that they had an enemy on their home world they could not kill. "First Kaido now this guy?"

Toshiro looked to the pirates for an explanation about the new name.

"One of the Pirate Emperors, Kaido, is also said to be incapable of dying." Robin helped him out. "How he got that way we still aren't sure, but it's not the same as Aizen."

"If it's an item, there might be a way to take it away from Aizen." Law stood, letting Chopper look over Coby as the surgeon turned back to the others.

"Really?" Toshiro couldn't help a small look of hope in his eyes. After the Hogyoku had fused with Aizen it had been deemed impossible to separate them, even after he lost the majority of its powers in his fight with Ichigo. That's why they had to seal him away. But with Law's ability… there might be the slightest possibility it could work. His unique way of dissecting a body may just be what they were missing to remove Aizen's hold on immortality. If they could do that… it would still be extremely difficult considering the immense power Aizen had just on his own, but they could kill him.

"The hard part will just be getting close enough." Law responded with a nod.

"And keeping you away from his powers." Jimbei put a reassuring hand on the Nobody's shoulder.

"Unfortunately that part will be nearly impossible, he can create an illusion around me no matter where I am, as long as I'm in range, and as you noticed his range stretched out into the ocean." Toshiro warned them.

"But then what do we do if you get trapped in an illusion?" Dextra asked, worried for her friend.

"It's probably best to stay away from me at that point, because all I can really do is fight the best I can. If I second guess every little detail I'll just get in the way." Toshiro turned away, already uncertain. "Hopefully I can avoid it, but I'm going to have to depend on all of you to deal with him if I lose my way."

"Leave it to us, we'll do a Super job fighting him off!" Franky did his signature pose and grin as he responded.

"The best option is to figure out how to distract him enough I can get close enough to use my ability, then someone needs to grab this Hogyoku before he gets it back." Law spoke to his allies.

"I can at least break line of sight by using this fog." Nami suggested, climatact ready in her hands, Zeus inside ready to go.

"Let's just get him already!" Not one to sit around planning, much to the irritation of his crew and allies, Luffy was stomping off angrily into the fog to find Aizen. "HEY! JERKFACE!"

"…really?" Toshiro deadpanned. No one in Soul Society would have the blind courage to call out Aizen with such a childish insult. Aizen was unlikely to respond to it as well, likely thinking someone shouting as such was beneath his attention.

"Luffy! Don't run off and get killed!" Zoro grumbled, following after his Captain. His crew were immediately concerned he would get lost in the fog, knowing how terrible his sense of direction was.

"Ah, jeez, we're really doing this, aren't we?" Usopp's entire body was shaking as he and the others made their way into the fog, leaving the Marines with the Human-Mink on the shore.

"We must press on, my friends, and deal with our foe with our souls bared!" Brook's short speech was somewhat uplifting as the skeleton who would normally cower with Usopp and Chopper charged forward without fear.

"I'd rather keep my soul safe thank you!" Usopp argued back, though followed his comrades regardless.

Snow crunched under their feet as they moved inland together, Heart Pirates and Straw Hat Pirates in one group to tackle this menace, a choice few remaining behind with the ships on the slight chance the Marines might try something. The air felt heavy around them, the chill that should have been there muffled by a pure energy that challenged them. Toshiro looked ahead with no small amount of fear; this was not a Shichibukai or Pirate Emperor, no Marine Admiral. This world had its own mighty powers, but they were powers that could still fall. Aizen had a far smaller chance of defeat, a combination of deadly skills at his command that would put him on par with menaces like Shanks and Fujitora, perhaps higher if he still had any power with the Hogyoku. He felt as if he had sent these people, these pirates he had befriended and come to trust, to their deaths.

He could only hope that this time he was wrong.


	47. Intermission

The room was dimly lit, making those inside it somewhat tense. Two long tables rested on the navy blue floor, close enough those sitting at it could speak normally but far enough three of four people could walk between them side by side. Seated behind these tables were important, high ranking Marines from various fleets, gathered under the impression they had been called for something important. However, the Fleet Admiral, the only one who could have called them, looked just as confused as the rest of them, and had double the frustration as a result.

The lights that would normally keep the room bright and cozy had dimmed into a sickly green, the one who had done so standing at the opposite end of the room from Sakazuki, the Fleet Admiral. The only reason she could look so confident in a room that contained the Admirals and the other powerful Marines – even including Luffy's grandfather, Monkey D. Garp – was because she wasn't actually there. She had a goal in mind for these men and women, but she was not nearly stupid enough to show up herself, and had been right to do so when Sakazuki had attempted to have her shot the moment she gave her name. She had not expected them to know her name yet, cursing Toshiro for giving away such information so freely, and knew she had to be careful as she continued negotiations. Sakazuki did not look at all willing to make a deal with someone who worked with dark creatures like the Heartless.

"Make your point or get out." Akainu snarled, the lava fruit user letting off a slight steam to show he was extremely unhappy, and lava could cut off any attempt at a conversation at any point.

"I understand that the one who told you about me made sure to focus on what made me _evil_." Maleficent spoke with a slight scoff at the end, a few in the room nodding to show they agreed, still glaring. "However, I believe he failed to reveal information about himself you might have found useful."

"He spoke of being a warrior trying to stop these creatures, your creatures, and asked for our aid as he was only one man." Fujitora explained before she could go on, letting out a slight huff as if disappointed she had nothing more.

"And yet, why does he not fight with you?" The witch questioned with the smallest of grins, sinister in nature. Fujitora did not so much as flinch under any glances or stares, a perfect poker face, and even seemed as interested as the rest of them in whatever point she was trying to make. "Are you aware he's traveling with pirates?"

"What?" Sakazuki gave a low growl with his tone at the mere mention of pirates. It had not been hard for Maleficent to pick out his hatred for them, and his violent tendencies in regards to 'Justice'. She fully planned to use this against them. "Fujitora…"

"I'm afraid he was not with pirates when we stumbled onto him previously." Fujitora lied smoothly. "At the least, he did not seem to be, appearing on my fleet quite suddenly after a chase with the Straw Hat Pirates and Heart Pirates. Now that she mentions it, their ships were the only place he could have gone."

"Don't tell me that strange kid that appeared recently with Trafalgar Law's crew is your informant." Garp turned to the Admiral with a scowl.

Fujitora looked quite shocked at the possibility.

"Forgive me, he spoke to me in private, and my eyes are not what they used to be." This he directed to the Fleet Admiral. Sakazuki was still pissed, but he accepted the mistake and turned back to Maleficent. He didn't like her smug look either, but obviously she knew this mysterious stranger, who was becoming more of a problem as time went on.

"I believe his reasons for being with the pirates were the powers of the… I believe you call him 'Surgeon of Death'. You see, this young warrior has also fallen to darkness himself, and he seems to believe that pirate can fix him. It's likely he is simply desperate. However, letting him fall into the wrong hands is a bad idea."

"And why's that?" The Admiral dressed in yellow with a lazy expression, Kizaru, questioned. "And why tell us? Surely you want him as well, if he really is so important."

"I only seek a kingdom with which to rule, and while he would be of great use for that, I have no wish to continue here. As for why I'm telling YOU… well, allow me a little pettiness to say that it's out of spite. I used to have a wonderful, loyal little pet, a beautiful raven, and they have taken him from me."

"Heh, spite can be a pretty powerful thing." A Marine snickered.

"Fine. What is he?" Akainu demanded, still looking ready to throw lava at any point if she didn't hurry up.

Sensing his impatience, Maleficent got to the point.

"He has been born to the title Heavenly Guardian. This name may hold no meaning for you, but to put it short, he is the key to a great power locked within the universe, and whoever controls him controls that power. Obtaining it would allow one to shape the very stars themselves." She exaggerated a little bit, more to get as much of their interest as she could than actually revealing everything, but it was close enough. To control Kingdom Hearts was to control the source of all light, and to get to it you needed a 'key'. "He has not awakened this power fully given his current condition, but if this surgeon does fix him, he may find it."

"You can't be serious." It was clear most of the people in the room didn't believe her. This was the first they were hearing of outside worlds and the existence of a power like Kingdom Hearts, she didn't expect them to believe her right away. "He's a child!"

"On the contrary, if he had been present, he would be the oldest in the room." Her smile faltered when Garp scoffed, starting to get tired of the interruptions as she continued her speech to get them on board with her plan. Whether they wanted to kill or capture Toshiro mattered not to her, if it was the latter she could just use the darkness to take him from this world, and the former would at the least keep him away from Xehanort. She had not been lying about being spiteful. "He was born in a realm of spirits; his lifespan far exceeds that of normal humans. In fact, should he awaken his ability, he may become immortal."

The immortality was definitely a lie, otherwise there wouldn't have been a need for a reincarnation to begin with, but it got them interested. Some definitely looked ready to vote for execution, while she could see the greed clearly in the eyes of others. Were it not for their sense of justice and the fact they already hated her Heartless, she could have turned them all to her side with little trouble. But, like Shanks, they were strong-willed. It was nowhere near as easy to bring them into darkness as it had been with a jealous and naïve child as Riku had once been.

"Now then, I seek to bother you no longer." She waved a hand, moving into the final part of her plan. "Forgive my spiteful behavior, I simply did not wish for those vile pirates to be the one to use him."

"Even spite comes with a price, what is it you want for this information?" Kizaru asked, leaning forward rather menacingly. She could tell he was watching her closely, contrary to his lazy posture.

"Oh? Well, I would like to take a small prize from those pirates when you go after them. In return, I am willing to tell you where they are and let you have the Heavenly Guardian, whatever purpose you may have for him." She would never let them keep him alive, but at the least she wanted one price in return for their meddling and the trouble she went through chasing him around.

"Money can be arranged." Sakazuki growled. Making a deal with her was the last thing he wanted, but to be able to get the heads of those two annoying Supernovas… he would deal with her later once he had those two executed.

"Oh no, dear, I want no payment." Maleficent chuckled, keeping up a smile even as he glared at her fiercely. "There is a child I have taken an interest in, one who turns into a lovely bird. I would like to keep her to replace my pet they took from me."

"She's a pirate that deserves execution with the rest of them."

"If I take her with me, there will be no need for that." The witch sneered. "I know! I will even remove the Heartless from this world! Let me adopt the harpy, she is but a small price for the one who is the key to the stars."

The soldiers exchanged glances, the Admirals barely moving as they each thought about her offer. They would be able to catch two pirate crews that were starting to become a problem, specifically the Straw Hats who had survived multiple encounters with the strongest in the world and even caused trouble right under their noses with little punishment. They would also have the Heartless removed and a powerful piece under their control, if things worked out, and all she wanted was a former Shichibukai's pet killer. It was too good to be true, and they were all rightfully suspicious.

The Fleet Admiral did not at all believe her word for removing the Heartless, nor her claims of having no interest in this Heavenly Guardian. If he really was so special she would make deals with her enemy over him, Akainu would rather eliminate it and be done. Something that strong needed to be kept far away from vile pirates, and since the boy was currently working with pirates, the safest bet was to destroy him. If the witch wanted to take the 'King's Bird' with her, then if the girl survived, fine. What was most important was getting to these pirates.

"That harpy brat is used to obeying orders, so do what you wish. Where are Straw Hat and Trafalgar?" He growled out his answer to her offer.

Maleficent's smile gave off an impression of a cat who had caught a prize mouse, and there was little they could do about it.

As she made her plans for her last effort here on this world, planning to leave once they found the pirates, a different group got a small message that would throw a wrench in any dark plans made by her or Xehanort. Deep in space, a brightly colored ship searched relentlessly for any sign of their target.

Sora gave a start as the Soul Pager he borrowed from Yoruichi went off in his pocket. Was it Kisuke again? The man had been trying to find a way to track either Toshiro or his dragon, but like Merlin had been having little success, though he still tried to keep in touch with Sora in case he and his group came across something that might boost his efforts. It could also be Ichigo again, wanting to know if they found anything since he was traveling with a different search party.

To his shock, it was not either Soul Reaper. Instead, it was the last person they expected, having assumed he either lost his phone or it went dead.

"Guys, guys!" Sora's voice almost went up several octaves in his excitement, prompting everyone to look over at him. His usual animal pair of friends, Donald and Goofy, were by his side. The others in his group were the Nobody Demyx, Toshiro's Lieutenant Rangiku, his best friend Riku, the ex-Captain he borrowed this phone from Yoruichi, and the shark Arrancar Harribel.

"What is it?" Riku asked for everyone, wondering why Sora had the same expression on his face as he had when seeing Santa.

"It's Toshiro! He sent a message!" Sora held the device out for them.

"What!?" Heart beating excitedly, Rangiku snatched the Soul Pager. Sure enough, it really was a message from her Captain. "'I don't have much time, so here's the short version. I'm truly sorry for running away and for not responding, but I have found a world that may have the answers I need. The world is mostly ocean, separated in four seas with a crossing sea called the Grand Line where I am, and an expanse of land perpendicular to it. Hopefully that helps you find it. Be careful though, I think Aizen has'… it ends there."

"Something must have happened and he had to send it in a hurry." Yoruichi said with a frown, taking her phone back to look at the message. "But if he's mentioning Aizen…"

"We figured he would go after your Captain when he escaped." Harribel spoke up. That was her reason for joining them after all. When word got out that a dark portal had allowed the near-immortal to escape a week back, she had made demands to join the search party. She still held a grudge for his actions in the Winter War and wished to pay him back tenfold.

"If it was really Xehanort who freed him, it makes sense how he found Toshiro so fast." Demyx added in with a concerned look. "They could have gone right through the dark realms and followed Hyorinmaru."

"Then we better hurry." Yoruichi looked through her contacts for Kisuke to give him an update. "An ocean world, right? If we can narrow down worlds like that we can use the way-finder the rest of the way."

"Hopefully we can get to him without stirring up too much trouble." Goofy spoke up with some concern. Other than its appearance they knew nothing about the world Toshiro was hiding on, though if he was having to deal with Aizen it was a miracle they even got that much.

"Don't worry about it too much, the Soul Society has the technology to replace memories, worst case we go in, grab him, flash some new memories and get out." Yoruichi assured them while waiting for Kisuke to pick up. Once he did, she moved off towards the back of the ship to speak with him about finding a mostly ocean world.

"Hopefully we don't have to do that…" Riku looked a bit uncomfortable about the idea of replacing memories, especially after the Castle Oblivion ordeal. Sora didn't comment, but his friend could see him fidget, clearly not okay with it either.

"I wonder what kind of help he found." The brunette wondered aloud instead, preferring to focus on finding his friend and not on what may happen once they did. "You think there's someone out there who can return a Nobody to normal?"

"If he found someone like that it'd be awesome." Demyx responded, looking hopeful. As a Nobody himself any chance of returning to himself and getting his zanpaktou spirit back was a chance worth taking. So far neither Kisuke nor Mayuri Kurotsuchi had found a way to return Demyx and Axel back to normal, and with Demyx being a former Soul Reaper and Axel a human, the methods needed were entirely different. Supposedly destroying both halves was one way to return the original whole, but they couldn't be certain that would work for already dead beings like Soul Reapers. So, while Axel was getting himself fixed up, Demyx chose to search for the Captain, knowing his own situation would be more difficult since his Heartless half was already destroyed and couldn't be used to see if a fusion method would work. Toshiro still had hope though, with Hyorinmaru still around. They just had to find him.

"Alright, kids, I think we have a lead." Yoruichi rejoined them with a triumphant look on her face, hitting a button on her phone with Kisuke speaking up through the speaker a moment later.

" _With the description Hitsugaya passed on that helped narrow down some choices, and once I did that I noticed an alarming amount of Spirit Energy on one of the worlds. Whether it's Aizen or our Captain isn't clear, but they're likely in the same place._ " The ex-Captain explained. " _I passed the location to your chipmunk friends, since they can get your ship heading that way, and the location for a few others in case it's not the correct one._ "

"Thanks Kisuke!" Sora beamed, excited. "With the way-finder Merlin set up we'll be able to find him from there!"

" _Be careful, there is no information on this world, it could range anywhere from peaceful like Atlantica to savage like Port Royal, an ocean world like that is bound to have some nasties._ " Kisuke warned.

"There are two people present that hold power over water, we will be fine." Harribel argued. As a shark Hollow, water was her expertise, and she had overpowered even Toshiro when they fought each other in the Winter War. With Demyx having a water based power as well, though perhaps not as powerful, the two of them would have a distinct advantage in an ocean world.

" _True, but there is also Aizen, so the warning still stands._ " With that Kisuke let the line drop just as Harribel scowled fiercely. She lost rather quickly the last time she made to attack Aizen, but she had no plans to do so this time. Arrancars – or Hollows in general – did not like to make allies, but she had always been a little different in that sense, and so even with three of the people present being Soul Reapers, her natural enemy, she was willing to team up to defeat a shared foe.

"I had kind of hoped to never meet him." Sora spoke up, a slight frown on his face. He had heard many things about the man, none of them good, and after Hyorinmaru had allowed the Keybearer to see Toshiro's memories, to see everything that had happened to him, Sora was quite sure he didn't want to go face to face with the mastermind.

"We all hoped he would stay right where he was, but it looks like Xehanort took advantage of our borders being open and came to get him." Yoruichi agreed with a huff. "The fact Aizen went along willingly suggests they had already planned for a possibility like this."

"I don't think Aizen was supposed to get defeated and imprisoned, but that might just be a small setback for him, with Xehanort ready to lend a hand if things went wrong." Demyx added in. "Even Xemnas by himself always seemed to have his attention elsewhere while we worked towards that false Kingdom Hearts, I wonder if he had a way of keeping in touch with Aizen."

"They must have or he couldn't have gotten those Arrancar to The World That Never Was."

Their conversation was interrupted as the screen on the ship lit up, revealing Chip and Dale.

"We've got your route, everybody!" Chip jumped up and down excitedly.

"But hurry! There's something weird going on!" Dale added with less enthusiasm.

The ship panel beeped as it uploaded the proper route. Without any further prompting, Donald started their journey to where their friend hopefully was.

They had no idea what awaited them.


	48. My Illusion

The fog remained thick around them, giving them barely any visibility. The lack of sight and chilly weather made them all shudder nervously, the atmosphere not far off from a horror story. No one spoke, the sound of snow crunching under their feet the only thing they heard. There was no way to pinpoint where Aizen was as his Spirit Energy was so overwhelming it covered everything else.

Then, with no warning, the fog began to shift. As if pushed back by an unseen wind, the fog moved away, giving them their visibility back in moments. They all came to a stop, tense, knowing that no one in their group had done this. Nami was capable of doing so, but had let the fog stay in the hope they would not be spotted by their enemy. It seemed that hope was vain as the fog revealed the very person they had hoped to avoid direct confrontation with.

If not for everything Toshiro had told them, they might have thought he was someone else, completely unassuming, his stance similar to someone trying not to be a threat. The light smile on his face almost seemed friendly. But the black coat did look like it belonged on a prisoner, a few restraints still on it, with only a tan shawl over the shoulders. His hair was slicked back and the glasses were gone.

"Well, I must admit I was not expecting so many visitors." Aizen's tone was calm, inviting. He sounded for all the world like he was expecting company over for tea. Knowing what they did, his calm demeanor only made them even more nervous. "Hitsugaya isn't usually one to bring company."

The friendly appearance he had was shattered when he opened his eyes from the kind expression he'd had. His eyes were cold, uncaring, and malicious. They were beneath him. Remembering a similar feeling on the puppet version of Aizen when they fought the Chaos user, Nami realized it had not gotten anywhere close to the real thing. She wasn't just a flea in his eyes, she simply didn't exist. Others had a similar feeling wash over them. To someone with immortality, humans weren't worth his time.

"We're his friends, and we're going to help him stop you!" Luffy replied proudly, taking the belittling expression on the Soul Reaper as a challenge. His strong will did draw Aizen's attention, curious.

"Friends?" Aizen seemed amused by the word. "That's quite the dangerous position to be in with him. If I recall, he's been responsible for the death or grave injuries of several 'friends'."

"If I had a choice those moments never would have happened." Hitsugaya shot back with a scowl. "You were the direct cause of most of them."

"Yes, I suppose I did enjoy using Momo against you a little too much." Aizen had the audacity to chuckle as he said this. The chill in the air became bitter cold in response to Toshiro's rage.

"You're sick." Dextra spat, finding some of her courage despite the overwhelming power Aizen had, the screams of the Hogyoku still echoing in her mind.

The way the Soul Reaper looked at her made everyone nervous. Law stepped in front of her, daring the other to try anything, wondering what Aizen had noticed to look so amused and calculative. Thursday and Book huddled next to their sibling, wondering if the three of them should have stayed behind with little Daniel and the other pirates at the ships. Dextra could perhaps handle herself, but they didn't want to lose anyone else, and Aizen was strong.

"We've heard your pretty strong," Sanji paused to let out a breath of smoke from his cigarette, "but we've got you outnumbered."

"Oh? Is that what you think?" Aizen's smile seemed to increase a bit, not the slightest bit threatened by the cook.

After he spoke, there was an echoing roar through the fog. The pirates looked around, confused, not recognizing the noise.

"You found a way to bring Hollows with you?" Toshiro looked surprised. Unlike Heartless, Hollows weren't supposed to be able to move across worlds. Their home was Hueco Mundo, attached to the World of the Living the same as Soul Society.

"I only have one reason for coming here, I don't have time for marauders standing in my way." Aizen responded calmly as several large shadows approached through the fog.

"We're pirates!" Chopper shouted, morphing into his large 'human' form in an attempt to look bigger and stronger. His fur standing on end gave away his fear.

"So he brought in minions to deal with us." Law scowled as he looked around at the creatures approaching.

They stepped out of the mist, hissing and laughing, looking excited for a fight. The Hollows were all unique in shape, bodies black and muscular, their faces covered by bleached white masks of varying design, eyes bright yellow and a large hole through their body. They weren't terribly different from Heartless in how their aura felt, but the biggest difference they noticed right away was their intelligence. Heartless hunted blindly by instinct, but these Hollows all had calculative looks, thinking of the best way to take down their prey. They were even capable of speech by the sounds of their malicious laughter.

"As I understand it you have experience against the Heartless at this point." Aizen spoke up to the crowd of pirates. "Allow me to introduce you to the corrupted souls of my home world, poor souls never saved by the Soul Reapers and left to rot and consume other souls. I believe they will enjoy trying something new." He lifted his arms as if inviting the Hollows to enjoy a feast.

" **I want the skeleton! His soul smells delicious!** " A bull-like Hollow cried out, licking the teeth of his mask eagerly.

" **I'm particular to the bright souls of children…** " Hissed a large lizard-like Hollow on the other side, stalking towards the three Heart Pirate orphans. Bepo and Jean Bart stood menacingly in its way. Dextra had become hyper alert, a starting sign for her becoming her harpy self should the Hollows get too close.

As it was they had become completely surrounded. Hollows still lay hidden in the fog behind those approaching their group, eager for blood. To make matters worse, Heartless appeared from their shadows, like scavengers waiting for the bigger predators to leave them a free meal. In moments it was the group of pirates that had become vastly outnumbered.

"I will not be taken so lightly!" Brook pulled his sword from the sheath of his cane, skull set in a fighting expression as he took a fencing position. Following his lead, the others readied themselves for a fight.

The Hollows attacked.

"Aim to shatter their masks!" This was the only warning Toshiro could give before they had to focus on their fights.

With spine-chilling roars, the corrupted souls went for the kill, swarming the group. The pirates didn't hesitate to counter, using their own unique skills to fight off whatever creature came their way. Brook took the bull Hollow head on, practically dancing around the Hollow's charge with more grace than any matador. A few quick strikes proved even Hollows couldn't best these humans, even ones long dead themselves. If anything, Brook's spirit made his attacks more effective than his friends, and as if picking up on that the skeleton charged the next enemy with confidence. Helping him out, Nami and Usopp used their ranged abilities to support from the middle, Zeus returning once more to cover the field with bolts of lightning.

A lion Hollow along with a couple Heartless charged at Chopper, but the reindeer was prepared, shifting into Horn Point. Using his new enormous horns, Chopper went underground before slamming into his foe from beneath and knocking it back several feet. Startled, the Hollow took a little more care with his next charge, as did the other Hollows. Book, getting an idea, slid over next to the reindeer and offered some new bombs he'd made for Chopper to use, and as they teamed up they held off any charge with ease. Sanji and Zoro didn't bother staying with the group, taking the offense instead and tearing through the new enemies. They had a creepy appearance and aura, but being lower level Hollows they presented as much challenge as the Heartless did. Trickier, perhaps, but with the pair knowing what to aim for there was little the corrupted souls could do to defend themselves. Luffy as well, shifting into Gear Second quickly, was too fast for Hollows that couldn't use the Hollow version of Flash Step.

The Heart Pirates weren't about to fall behind either. They had taken to sparring with Toshiro and the Straw Hats when possible to prepare themselves for more attacks, and it had served them well. Bepo was briefly ignored by the Hollows, not realizing he was covered in white fur rather than a mask and momentarily mistaking him for one of them until he crushed one's mask beneath his fist. Thursday, Penguin, and Shachi worked together to take out each Hollow that approached. They tried to ignore Dextra… she had shifted into her harpy and was viciously tearing apart the mask of any Hollow that approached her and her family, not forgetting to take on the Heartless as well. Law wasn't happy, but she needed the strength of her harpy form in this fight, so with a scowl he kept an eye on her as she hovered near him like a guardian and focused on his own fights. With his ability, the Heartless were little threat, but the Hollows became a problem. They were spirits, a form his powers weren't familiar with yet, so he had to shift his tactics on the fly as he fought. He decided saving his energy and just using sword skills alone to cut through the masks was easier than trying to kill them in other ways.

Toshiro was about to step in and help them when a warning shot of Kido from Aizen stopped him in his tracks. Scowling, the Ice Nobody hesitated to attack. Fighting Aizen alone was not the best case scenario, but it looked like he had no choice, the Soul Reaper had made sure any allies he brought would be busy elsewhere. Perhaps it was for the better anyway; Aizen could fight all the Captains, Lieutenants, and other powerful Soul Reapers on his own on even ground, other than knowing nothing about this world and its people and the pirates not being under his illusions, there was little the humans could do that Soul Society hadn't already tried.

But it was those illusion powers that made him nervous. Even now he couldn't be sure what was real or not.

' ** _Our best chance is just to fight_**.' Hyorinmaru assured his partner, rising from Toshiro's shadow and snarling at Aizen. The former Captain looked somewhat impressed by the menacing Heartless, almost… proud? It made Toshiro uncomfortable either way.

"Forever loyal to your master, even in the darkest of forms." Aizen spoke to the dragon. "If only that loyalty could be shifted…"

Hyorinmaru bared his teeth, furious at the mere suggestion of changing his loyalty to Aizen. The Soul Reaper only seemed amused by the reaction, expecting as much.

"For a spirit showing such loyalty, you put your master through quite a bit of grief when you didn't know who he was."

The words made a chill run up Toshiro's spine. It didn't take him long to understand what Aizen was getting at.

Kusaka.

With all the world traveling and fighting the darkness, trying to understand who he was, Toshiro had forgotten about his friend Kusaka. The only other soul to ever possess the same zanpaktou as someone else. For a brief time… there had been two of Hyorinmaru. It was such a rare possibility, such a bizarre anomaly, that the Central Forty-Six had deemed it unsafe and ordered the pair to fight to the death over who would be Hyorinmaru's true master.

He had been forced to kill a friend for Hyorinmaru. Twice. Kusaka had returned as an Arrancar still holding Hyorinmaru's power, fusing with it even, only to lose once more.

"I see you never had time to think about that, did you, Hitsugaya?" Aizen's smile had twisted into a sneer. "If you are indeed the true reincarnation of the Heavenly Guardian… why was dear Kusaka allowed the burden as well? Why did Hyorinmaru not choose him in the end? Or rather… why did he choose him at all?"

Toshiro took a step back, trying to put the pieces back together. With everything he had learned, the memories from the first guardian that he had seen, it didn't make sense why someone else would hold Hyorinmaru's powers. So why? Why did Kusaka obtain Hyorinmaru? Why did he have to die?

"If Hyorinmaru can be so bold as to choose two masters, what's to stop him from changing who that master is altogether?" Aizen continued, the sneer on his face growing as he watched Toshiro struggle to understand his partner's choices. "Perhaps you were not meant to be the Heavenly Guardian… or perhaps you're just not fit for the role."

Having heard quite enough, Hyorinmaru let off an angry roar and charged at Aizen, refusing to hear anymore nonsense about leaving his master. With a chuckle, the man vanished into the fog, the Heartless following after and leaving Toshiro on his own as the dense air converged back around him and the others, effectively separating them by sight. He could still hear them fighting all around, but he could see nothing but white.

' _There are still a lot of questions I need answered… but I can't just stand here and let him confuse me!_ ' Finding his resolve again, Toshiro spread his senses out to try and find Aizen, or at least Hyorinmaru. The issue of Kusaka still remained at the back of his mind, but he needed to keep his priorities straight.

He caught onto them. Turning that way, he Flash Stepped through the fog. Hyorinmaru had gone into the air, trying to clear up the fog somewhat with powerful wing beats. Aizen came into view, dodging Toshiro's first strike and jumping back. The other's sneer never faded, avoiding the icy blade with ease before vanishing back into the fog. Toshiro followed, trying not to lose track of him, summoning his Keyblade in time to block a Hollow coming at him from the side. Keeping back the teeth with the Keyblade made it easy to swing the sword around and destroy it before moving on.

Aizen came around behind him, a move Toshiro had not expected, fairly certain the other had been ahead in the fog. He still managed to block the strike, but the red flag was waving viciously. Was this really Aizen? Even if he had suspicions it wasn't, all of his senses would still tell him yes. He went for a counter, only able to trust his senses for now.

A Kido knocked him off his feet, landing harshly in the snow out of sight of the Soul Reaper. The cold hardly bothered him, but he had to take a moment to get his breath back. He could sense Hyorinmaru having to deal with a group of Hollows in the air, kept at a distance. Toshiro scowled at the tactic; so Aizen really was trying to keep him away from the others. How could he know which figure was truly Aizen? There was no doubt he was in an illusion, but he had no way of knowing the truth until it broke, and unfortunately knowing the illusion was there didn't get rid of it. His body would react to what he saw, heard and felt, not what he thought.

Hurrying to his feet, the Ice Nobody moved towards what he hoped were allies, before stopping short as Aizen stood in his way.

"Do you really think you can return to the light after what you've done?" The taller figure questioned, his smile still mocking Toshiro.

"No one said I had to be part of the light to do what needs to be done." Toshiro argued back, blade ready to attack.

"But do you think those of the light will accept you otherwise?"

Toshiro hesitated with this answer.

"All I need are my friends."

Aizen laughed menacingly and the Nobody tensed, waiting for some kind of attack.

"What friends?" He spread his arms out to the side before stepping back into the fog and disappearing again.

Frustrated, Toshiro attempted to follow, rushing through the snow to find his enemy and put an end to this farce. He was tired of being dragged around and mocked.

There were a few figures he spotted in the fog, none of them Aizen, and thankfully none were Hollow. Robin, Brook and Chopper looked a bit torn up, beginning to tire and weaken. They were using this break in the Hollows and Heartless to catch their breath.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked, looking to see if any of their injuries were serious. None of them seemed to be, but if they didn't have the energy to fight they would be in danger regardless.

"No thanks to you." Robin's tone was cold, startling him.

"Ah, I don't want to fight anymore creepy monsters!" Chopper looked like he might start crying, a mix of frustration and fear after fighting off the hordes. Brook said nothing, just kept watch for his companions.

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this… it should be over soon." Toshiro promised, though whatever end that was he couldn't say for sure. Their current attitudes were exactly what he had been afraid of.

"It's been one thing after another, there's no telling if you'll ever stop dragging in danger." The archeologist responded with disapproval. "My friends don't deserve this."

"I…" Unsure how to respond to the sudden hostility from the trio, Toshiro backed away, turning away to vanish back into the fog. What was with them? Robin had been the most supportive in helping him overcome his mental barriers, but now she seemed to have had enough, prioritizing her crew over the one who brought all this trouble to them.

' _Was that even them?_ ' He wondered to himself. It might have actually been them, but not their words, or maybe even other people entirely. Hollows playing around. That's why he felt like he had to move. At this point he couldn't trust anyone… but then how was he supposed to escape this nightmare? If he didn't know where the real Aizen was, how was he supposed to stop this?

Worse yet, what if it wasn't an illusion? He was running around trying to be cautious, but maybe he should have gone for the kill at first sight. Hyorinmaru had done so before getting distracted by Hollows, perhaps he had been able to see the truth the whole time. He remembered an old conversation about being able to overpower the Complete Hypnosis once his powers as the guardian matured, but had he reached that level yet? Was he actually immune to the illusions?

The more he tried to make sense of it and predict Aizen's plans the more confused he was. He stopped within the fog, still hearing the sounds of battle around him, his mind spinning with too many possibilities. He didn't know what to do… small wisps of darkness clung to his form, feeding on his rising panic, spurring on a feeling of powerlessness and despair that he couldn't do anything or risk hurting people who didn't deserve to be involved in this fight. The charm around his neck flickered with a dark cloud.

What was he supposed to do?

' _What do I do!?_ ' No one answered his thoughts of course, his hands releasing his weapons and moving up to his head, trying to calm the turmoil but failing. The same question repeated over and over with no answer in sight. Or rather, far too many answers to know which one was correct, if any of them even were.

"What am I supposed to do?" He spoke out loud this time, voice shaking, hoping someone, ANYONE, would have an answer.

"Toshiro!" A voice called out for him.

Something to focus on. Someone to help. Shoving aside the train wreck that was his thoughts, he hurried to the voice, spotting Dextra in her eagle form, injured and trying to fight off a crowd of Hollows, the fog mostly cleared here to reveal them all. She could not fight off so many at once, and her arms were injured, meaning she had no wings to fly away.

He acted almost reflexively, Flash Stepping to her side and returning his zanpaktou to hand. The Hollows all paused, looking irritated that their free meal had been stolen, but Toshiro gave them no chance to retaliate. He had to get rid of them all at once or Dextra would get hurt. The pressure in the air intensified and his form let off a glow as he released his Spiritual Pressure, utilizing it to his fullest to freeze the entire area around him along with the Hollows. Already covered in snow, the ground took easily to the freeze, the fog solidifying into a frost on the creature's bodies. With his most powerful move, taking direct control of the weather in the area, he had them all taken care of. It costed him, however, as without the boost of his Bankai this ability drained him quickly, his breath coming out in short breaths.

"That takes care of that… we better find the-"

His words were cut off as a sharp pain went through his side. Stumbling forward, red staining the white snow beneath him, he turned back to Dextra. Her expression was cold, dead even, her hands formed into talons now stained with his blood.

"Dextra?" Unable to believe what he was seeing, Toshiro backed away from her with shaky steps, eyes showing the hurt of betrayal. Had her harpy form taken over to kill what she saw as a threat?

"So that's what you see…" Aizen's words echoed sharply through the air.

Teal eyes widened as the world around him shattered.


	49. Their Reality

As Toshiro was slowly pulled into what would become a nightmare, the others remained unaffected, unaware the spell had even been cast before the fight could even start, too distracted as they were by the approaching monsters they failed to notice the haze that overcame the expression of the small Soul Reaper in their group.

"So he brought in minions to deal with us." Law scowled as he looked around at the creatures approaching.

They stepped out of the mist, hissing and laughing, looking excited for a fight. The Hollows were all unique in shape, bodies black and muscular, their faces covered by bleached white masks of varying design, eyes bright yellow and a large hole through their body. They weren't terribly different from Heartless in how their aura felt, but the biggest difference they noticed right away was their intelligence. Heartless hunted blindly by instinct, but these Hollows all had calculative looks, thinking of the best way to take down their prey. They were even capable of speech by the sounds of their malicious laughter.

"As I understand it you have experience against the Heartless at this point." Aizen spoke up to the crowd of pirates. "Allow me to introduce you to the corrupted souls of my home world, poor souls never saved by the Soul Reapers and left to rot and consume other souls. I believe they will enjoy trying something new." He lifted his arms as if inviting the Hollows to enjoy a feast.

" **I want the skeleton! His soul smells delicious!** " With a charge, a bull-like Hollow got between Brook and his crew mates, causing the musician to give a startled shriek and jump away. He brought his sword up quickly, however, though was upset to find he'd been cut off from his friends.

" **I'm particular to the bright souls of children…** " Utilizing the same tactic, a lizard type Hollow slithered between the Heart Pirate children and their crew. Dextra responded with a hiss of her own, dangerously close to switching into her harpy personality as Thursday brandished her knife at the creature. Bepo backed off the beast with quick martial arts, Law hurrying over to the children as more creatures made to separate all the pirates.

Nami reached for Toshiro, not wanting him to get separated from everyone once she realized their intent to do so, knowing it couldn't be good for him. He shifted just enough to avoid her grasp, looking around him in concern at the surrounding Hollows. She briefly caught his gaze.

He didn't see her.

"The hypnosis…" She muttered under her breath, realizing what had happened. The spell was already cast; he no longer knew what was reality or not.

She let out a shriek as a Hollow jumped towards her, releasing Zeus from her staff. The Hollow was intrigued by the thunder spirit, pouncing for it, but a strong strike of thunder knocked it away.

"Aim to shatter their masks!" Toshiro shouted. Trapped in an illusion as he was, the information was still helpful. Those not already striking at the head switched their targets to do so, knowing the Soul Reaper would best know how to kill monsters from his own world of origin.

With spine-chilling roars, the corrupted souls went for the kill, successfully separating everyone. The pirates didn't hesitate to counter, using their own unique skills to fight off whatever creature came their way. Brook took the bull Hollow head on, practically dancing around the Hollow's charge with more grace than any matador. A few quick strikes proved even Hollows couldn't best these humans, even ones long dead themselves. If anything, Brook's spirit made his attacks more effective than his friends, and as if picking up on that the skeleton charged the next enemy with confidence. Nami managed to get to Usopp and they kept back to back, using their ranged techniques to fend off the creatures, Zeus over their heads, his energy kept up by the occasional cluster of thunder eggs.

A lion Hollow along with a couple Heartless charged at Chopper, but the reindeer was prepared, shifting into Horn Point. Using his new enormous horns, Chopper went underground before slamming into his foe from beneath and knocking it back several feet. Startled, the Hollow took a little more care with his next charge, as did the other Hollows. Book, finding himself cut off from the Hearts and pushed towards Chopper, got an idea and slid over next to the reindeer, offering some new bombs he'd made for Chopper to use, and as they teamed up they held off any charge with ease. Sanji and Zoro didn't seem bothered at being cut off on their own, taking the offense instead and tearing through the new enemies. They had a creepy appearance and aura, but being lower level Hollows they presented as much challenge as the Heartless did. Trickier, perhaps, but with the pair knowing what to aim for there was little the corrupted souls could do to defend themselves. Luffy as well, shifting into Gear Second quickly, was too fast for Hollows that couldn't use the Hollow version of Flash Step.

The Heart Pirates weren't about to be dissuaded either. Sparring with Toshiro and the Straw Hats when possible had served them well. Bepo was briefly ignored by the Hollows, not realizing he was covered in white fur rather than a mask and momentarily mistaking him for one of them until he crushed one's mask beneath his fist. Penguin and Shachi worked together to take out each Hollow that approached while attempting to return to their crew. Thursday had tried to calm Dextra… but she had shifted into her harpy and was viciously tearing apart the mask of any Hollow that approached her and her family, not forgetting to take on the Heartless as well. Law wasn't happy, but she needed the strength of her harpy form in this fight, so with a scowl he kept an eye on her as she hovered near him like a guardian and focused on his own fights, needing more of his sword skills for the Hollows, though he could temporarily confuse them with a personality swap transplant. His other abilities didn't seem to bother them besides Tact creating obstacles in their way.

Luffy turned to Aizen with a fierce scowl, the fog keeping back with all the fighting and Nami using her weather science to clear the air, allowing the man to be seen. He stood before Toshiro with a cruel sneer, making no move to attack the smaller figure, just watching. Toshiro seemed to react on his own, Hyorinmaru rising from his shadow in a protective stance. Aizen turned his attention to the dragon, knowing the Heartless would not be so easily dragged into the illusion. Worried for his friends, Luffy darted over just as Hyorinmaru snarled and pounced Aizen.

Toshiro continued to remain still, seeming to mentally fight with himself over something none of them could hear, and since only the dragon attacked Aizen had little trouble dodging away. Hollows leapt at the Heartless, forcing him up into the sky and away from his master so he couldn't snap him out of the spell. Not wanting to give the Reaper a chance to hurt Toshiro, Luffy launched a steaming punch.

Aizen did not bother to dodge this, simply holding his hand up to block. The impact felt like hitting Haki-imbued steel. Luffy pulled back his arm with a pained yelp whereas Aizen had barely twitched, reaching up to smooth his slightly disheveled hair with little concern to the pirate's presence.

"I applaud you humans for not crumbling under my presence alone." He spoke, the apathetic stare he gave Luffy only infuriating the rubber man even more. "The powers that all of you have are fascinating, and given more time I would enjoy studying them. However, I have other matters to attend to."

"Not until I kick your ass!" Luffy growled, arms turning black as he used Armament Haki.

Aizen simply chuckled, not giving the color change a second glance.

" _Red Hawk!_ " His arm almost seemed to light ablaze as he sent another high speed punch. Aizen blocked again, frowning as the impact moved his arm back slightly. He should have been able to deflect it as easily as the first. Did this odd armor add that much power?

Curious as he was, Aizen didn't have time to play, taking a few slow steps back with a smile.

Just before Luffy could follow, his Observation Haki kicked in, allowing him to jump away from an almost fatal sword strike.

"Hey, what was that for?!" The pirate shouted at Toshiro once he looked to see who had tried to attack him, startled to see the Nobody looking his way so angrily. Something was off in his eyes, however, making Luffy tense. Toshiro was definitely not himself right now. What was it he had mentioned? Some kind of hypnosis? He hadn't understood at the time, but seeing the other attack him helped him realize why Toshiro had been so afraid of the ability. "Wake up dammit!"

"Oh it won't be so simple." Aizen chuckled from where he had moved away from them

Luffy dodged a second strike, jumping over Toshiro and trying once more to get to Aizen, a Hollow leaping out at Toshiro. Thankfully the Nobody had enough of himself to deal with it. Normally taking out the one with the ability cancelled it, so Luffy just figured he had to take this man out. Simple, right?

"Leave him alone!" The rubber man sent another fiery, Haki-imbued fist out. Aizen chose to dodge this time, his speed better than even Second Gear, his movements effortless.

"Would a pirate give up a treasure so willingly as it stands before them?" Aizen asked the other.

"He's a friend, not a treasure!"

"Treating him a living being is a mistake… he is only a key."

"You're wrong!" Furious, Luffy tried a barrage of attacks, hoping one would hit. Unfortunately, Aizen had little trouble deflecting any that came right at him, the high-speed rain of fists lacking in their earlier power and once more simple to block with a palm. The condescending smile remained.

Suddenly Aizen lifted his other hand. From it, a burst of blue fire launched at where Luffy hung in the air, startling him. The attack sent him flying back, right at Toshiro. The Nobody lifted his blade as if to defend a strike, and Luffy had to flip around and cover his arms in Haki to avoid getting hit by the long katana.

"Sorry!" He shouted to the other, though it became clear he was not heard, Toshiro moving to counter what he assumed was an enemy attack. Reacting on reflex, Luffy sent a swift kick to the gut, not hitting too hard but enough to push the other away again.

He turned back to Aizen to start their duel again, but the Reaper was out of sight, tired of playing with him. Yelling angrily, Luffy rushed off to fight off Hollows trying to pin down his crew.

Sanji finished off a particularly annoying bat-like Hollow just as Toshiro ran up to him, pulling to a stop with a suspicious look. The cook returned the look with one of confusion before noticing the haze in the other's eyes.

"You're not looking too good; this isn't that hypnosis you mentioned right?" Sanji asked, tensing when the other lifted his blade as if to fight.

"No one said I had to be part of the light to do what needs to be done." The Nobody spat.

"I'm going to take that as a yes, it is." Sanji scowled. He could only assume he was under the guise of an enemy in Toshiro's gaze, which meant he needed to be ready to defend himself. Like Luffy, he assumed the only way to stop the ability was to stop the user… so his first priority was to get around Toshiro and find Aizen.

"All I need are my friends." Toshiro answered to whatever he thought he was being told.

"Don't worry kid, we'll help you." Sanji smirked before using his powerful legs to jump over. Fortunately, Toshiro didn't chase, looking ahead with a scowl and running off again, leaving Sanji to head off to look for Aizen with Luffy.

Like in his vision, Toshiro did run into Robin, Chopper and Brook next. However, while starting to get worn out, they were in no way hostile as he approached. Robin even smiled, glad to see him safe, though it faded when she saw the look in his eyes.

"Is everyone okay?" He questioned, looking between them. She hoped for a moment he might have slipped out of the hypnosis.

"We're quite alright, but how about you?" She responded, offering a hand so as to include him in their small group, knowing they needed to stick together as much as possible with the Hollows trying to isolate them, especially one so vulnerable as Toshiro. He didn't accept it, however, flinching back as if she had said something hurtful. Not noticing this, being on watch, Chopper added on his own answer to the question.

"We've all been split up, but no one looks too hurt." He said, taking a quick check of everyone he could see, evaluating their state quickly. Hyorinmaru flew past, trying to get down to his master, but a flying Hollow knocked him away, continuing to swarm him in the air with its comrades.

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this… it should be over soon." Toshiro promised, though sounding a bit unsure, as if feeling pressured when they were just reaching out.

"Listen Toshiro, once we regroup, we'll do what we always do and help our friends, so just try to hold on." The archeologist promised him, though doubting he heard her as he began to back away.

"Wait, don't go, we need to stick together!" Brook called out as the Nobody turned and took off, vanishing in a flash with the quick movement he always used.

"It has to be that power he mentioned, he can't see the real us." Robin explained to the skeleton. "We need to hurry, before he's forced to do something that costs him the rest of his will. If he snaps, we may never get him back."

"We're close to Nami, Usopp and Jean Bart, that's a step closer!" Chopper reported, pointing over to the three he mentioned. As they spoke, Penguin and Shachi joined them with Book, as well as Franky and Jimbei. Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy were still out of sight, as were Law and his two girls.

"Let's hurry then, we need to come up with a plan." Robin said to them. Nodding, the two males hurried alongside her to the others.

The larger group welcomed them quickly, several keeping an eye on the ever lurking Hollows.

"I think Captain is planning to have Dextra help out Hyorinmaru." Penguin said to them, ducking as Usopp fended off Heartless coming from one direction with a wall of plants, giving them a little breathing room as they controlled where they would be attacked. "That is if she'll follow it over her drive to protect the crew. She's in her harpy state so she might even attack Hyorinmaru if we're not careful. It won't be easy."

"Zeus can lend a hand." Nami replied, turning to the thundercloud. Understanding, Zeus gave a swift nod and hovered up higher into the air, his protection not as necessary now that most of her crew was back by her side. Chopper and Brook fought off another set of Hollows and Heartless before turning back to their plan.

"If Hyorinmaru can keep his master occupied and safe, we can get to that jerk and take him down." Chopper stated, looking around with an angry scowl for their main enemy. They spotted him, watching casually from a safe distance, easily distracting the more troublesome monster trio of the Straw Hats from reaching him – unfortunately Zoro made that a little too easy, always managing to turn the wrong way and never catching sight of Aizen himself to move onto target. His gaze was focused on Toshiro, his expression pleased as the Nobody seemed to internally struggle with himself, no doubt realizing he was trapped and trying to get out of it, completely unaware as his enemy approached him with the casual manner of a friend.

Seeing Aizen so happy about it made them all bristle, a pack of wolves furious that one they now considered among their own was in distress. They started making their way towards Toshiro; even if he didn't know it was them, or if they were helping him or not, they would at least stand a better chance keeping him away from Aizen if they were nearby. Sanji and Luffy headed that way as well when they saw Aizen approaching. Zoro got lucky and managed to find himself heading their way as well. Law and Thursday rejoined their crew, Dextra up in the air tearing at the Hollow masks she could, at worst shredding them and therefore killing the Hollow, at the least distracting them long enough Hyorinmaru could finish the rest. She thankfully did not try to attack the dragon himself, her instincts still recognizing him as an ally after the long weeks together, remembering him placing himself on top of the hierarchy last they interacted.

Finally back to a full group, the pirates attempted a pincer, going around to either side of Aizen to hopefully keep him from escaping again. He did not even try, standing calmly in the snow and not even glancing at them, though clearly aware of them as he stopped approaching Toshiro.

"You better get rid of that hypnosis you put on him, gimp-suited creep." Sanji scowled fiercely, a warmth exuding from his form that started to melt the snow at his feet.

Aizen's smile twitched briefly into a frown at the insult, but his tone didn't give away any irritation, calm and unassuming as always.

"He told you about my power, did he?" He chuckled. "Well, it's not so simple as to just remove it. I can no longer control the visions without Kyoka Suigetsu, so everything he sees is a product of his own doubts and uncertainties. It will end when it reaches its finale, and even I don't know what that will be."

"Fine, then we'll make sure you don't hurt him until then!" Nami shifted the staff in her hand, Zeus rumbling above her ready to strike, coming back to her from above at her call. The thundercloud was not as sure as he seemed, a spirit sensing a much stronger spirit, but he would still try his best. Others readied their attacks.

"Hitsugaya has an unfortunate habit of bringing pain upon himself." Aizen replied with a light shrug, as if that forgave him of any responsibility for Toshiro's suffering.

"Just stay away from him."

"That is up to him in the end, isn't it," here Aizen raised his voice to be heard by the confused Nobody not too far away, muttering to himself, "Hitsugaya?"

As if responding to the call of a friend, Toshiro stiffened and hurried over, stopping right in front of Aizen. The pirates all tensed as he looked around at them as if THEY were the enemy, ignoring the one right in front of him to scowl angrily, his zanpaktou appearing in his hands. Aizen seemed to know what he was up to, his grin becoming wider as he lifted a hand and drew a symbol in the air, a red aura appearing around him.

"Toshiro, wait!" Robin called out, hoping to be heard before it was too late, feeling the pressure in the air intensify, seeing the glow around the Nobody's body as he used his power. Zoro was about to charge forward to at least hold off Toshiro's attack while Luffy and Sanji turned to focus on Aizen, but before they could shift from their spots…

" _Bakudo Number Nine, Geki_." Aizen said the name of the Kido for the first time. The more of the Kido you spoke aloud, the stronger it was, and until this point he had not needed them to be very strong.

The red aura around Aizen flashed, enveloping all the pirates around him, paralyzing them in place. Startled and angry shouts went up through the group, unable to get out of the bind fast enough. Toshiro was free to continue his attack.

The snow beneath their feet shifted, turning black and rising up their bodies quickly. The sharp cold helped further prevent any movement to escape the binds, and the fear that pervaded the darkness inside the ice made their minds go blank, having to focus on fighting it off first. The air bit into their skin as they felt the full force of Toshiro's ability overwhelming them, even causing Zeus to go small as he lost to the stronger weather power, diving back into Nami's staff. The Kido and blizzard together was too much, and they could only scowl as they become fully enveloped in darkness. Nami, closest to the Nobody, tried to reach out for him, to wake him up before it was too late, but she could not twitch a muscle, and like her friends she was buried under black ice.

Silence fell over the island. Two figures approached the grouping of icy statues with fear in their expression, shocked. The one who caused the freeze didn't seem to realize what he had done, his stance momentarily relaxing as if he had come out victorious. Aizen was the one truly sneering in victory… and another shadowy figure was approaching the unaware Nobody.

"That takes care of that… we better find the-" Whatever it was Toshiro attempted to say to whichever ally he thought was behind him was abruptly cut off. The shadowy figure had approached after passing Aizen harmlessly, clearly an ally, and had brought forth a strange weapon to his hand that he proceeded to use to dig into Toshiro's side from behind the smaller figure. It had to be a Keyblade with its odd shape, though unlike the simple Kingdom Key and Toshiro's unique Frozen Heavens, this one was built of twisted black metal, a bright gleaming blue eye at the teeth end, said teeth twisting into sharp, cruel spikes of blackened spikes, sharp enough to cut through the small Nobody despite being a weapon for blunt attacks. A demonic looking head of silver metal rested at the base of the cruel weapon, more black metal twisting around the handle. The keychain was a wrought iron design with another, smaller eye at its center.

The two figures who had run to help from the shores watched Toshiro turn around after the attack, his expression shocked but his eyes still unseeing to the truth, not even noticing as the elderly looking Keyblade Wielder walked back around to be behind him again, standing next to Aizen. Coby and Tebliel looked to Aizen and this new man in fear, recognizing these people as the absolute powers on this island, the ones who had the entire place smothered under their presence, further recognizing Aizen as the man who effortlessly took out their Marine warships with Kido.

"Dextra?" Toshiro spoke up, bringing their attention to him. He seemed to be under the impression that the pair in front of him was the eagle girl of the Heart Pirates even though she was still up in the air with Hyorinmaru. He backed away from them with a betrayed look.

They did not approach him to help, even as the snow turned red underneath him, for fear of being frozen in ice like the others.

Aizen let out a slight chuckle, understanding now why it had been so easy to fool the Nobody into approaching him.

"So that's what you see…" He said with a sneer.

The sound of shattering glass echoed in the air, and with it, the haze in Toshiro's eyes vanished. His eyes widened as the truth before him was revealed. Around him, the frozen images of those who had treated him kindly, doing what they could to help him, to save him, now trapped in black ice. In front of him, the frightened expressions of a Marine and a Human-Mink recognizing a monster before them. As he took in the damage around him, he fell to his knees, his body shaking.

"What have I done?" His voice sounded broken.

* * *

 **If things look really similar, yes, I basically copied back in a lot of the beginning for ease of writing, cause a good illusion always pulls from reality, this chapter is just to show what actually happened.**


	50. The Struggle Against Gods

Everything had gone horribly wrong. Just like he had known it would. He had warned them, made it clear what would happen if they did this, but the desperate hope that they could help him overcome this nightmare was too strong. So now, here they all were, trapped forever in an icy prison he had placed them in. He could barely see their forms inside the dark ice, but it was clearly them, and as he tried to find their Spirit Energy in the hope that they were still alive, that he could break them out, he was met with nothing. Even if it was missing, he could feel his heart sink.

He looked back at Coby and Tebliel, his eyes pleading for help, hoping they could sense something he couldn't, that he hadn't killed the only people who had tried to help him. The pair only stared back, Coby's expression wary and stiff, Tebliel's purely fear. The despair grew stronger as he saw this, tears stinging at his eyes. This was his fault… it was always his fault.

"You poor child… this is the fate of those around you as long as you continue to deny your true self." The voice that spoke was not one he recognized, older, raspy. Tense, Toshiro turned to look at the owner of the voice.

Dark skin, silver hair, harsh yellow eyes. All familiar traits. It was Xehanort for sure, but this time much older, the only hair left a silver goatee and thin eyebrows, skin wrinkled. The long black coat, red underneath, rested over a white shirt, pants black with black boots over top up to his knees. He reached a white-gloved hand out to Toshiro as if offering help.

"I'm not denying it." Toshiro responded, refusing the offered hand but putting up no other resistance, not even standing to arm himself, his tone defeated.

"You may be seeking out the truth of what you are, but that does not mean you have accepted the role." Xehanort spoke, Aizen approaching calmly to Toshiro's other side, watching the unfrozen pair. Tebliel shrank away from the cold gaze, Coby shuddering but managing to hold his ground. "If you had, you would not continue to remain in this shadow of a form. You would be whole again, complete, powerful!"

"I'm in this state because of you." A growl returned to the Ice Nobody's tone, the statement infuriating him.

"As Xemnas, my only wish was to assist you in finding the true path." Xehanort argued with a disappointed huff. "You had spent far too much time with the light… you needed to see the darkness to understand yourself. A guardian must be neutral, light and darkness two halves of the same coin. One without the other is but a false existence, a state of ignorance and despair. If you were not able to see that, you would never awaken."

"I have seen enough darkness." Toshiro scowled.

"Perhaps you have not seen enough." Lifting his other hand, Xehanort revealed a small item.

A black collar with a symbol matching the keychain on Xehanort's Keyblade.

It was such a simple item, but the fear that went through Toshiro could be felt in the air.

"Your emotions get in the way of your purpose." The cold phrase made it clear what Xehanort's intentions were.

Sensing his master's distress, Hyorinmaru clawed his way past the Hollows still trying to restrain him and dove to the ground, aiming to crush the elderly man beneath him once and for all. His dive was cut short by a spray of crystal bullets.

"Hey now, your master has some hoops he still needs to jump through." The owner of the gunfire had a mocking tone, turning attention to him. Black and gray hair in a ponytail, one of his yellow eyes covered by an eyepatch with a scar visible outside its edges. The Nobody, Xigbar… except he had been destroyed in the World That Never Was. Next to him, the silent blue-haired figure of Saix, also meant to be dead.

"How…?" Recognizing them, Toshiro wasn't sure how they were here.

"For humans, if you defeat the Heartless and the Nobody of a powerful soul, they can regain their human form." Xehanort explained with a smirk. "Your kind is not so easy… but you won't have to worry about that anymore."

The hidden threat was not easily missed. Hyorinmaru made another attempt to help his master, but Xigbar – or rather Braig now if he had returned to his human self – kept the dragon above ground. His partner unable to approach, Toshiro tried a different, more desperate method. He brought forth his zanpaktou… and turned it towards himself. His only hope, these pirates, were gone, and he could not win on his own. He had no other choice if he wanted to prevent them from taking control of his power.

Red enveloped his form. Kido, the Geki spell. Now paralyzed, Toshiro truly lost all hope, unable to even end his own life to prevent the enemy from victory.

"It would be unfortunate for such an important key to break itself." Aizen sneered as he held the Kido while Xehanort approached with the collar.

"Leave him alone." Coby lifted his fists and prepared to step in, deciding enough was enough. The pain and despair in Toshiro's eyes spurred the Marine to act, to save someone in need of help. That's what he believed in and that's exactly what he always tried to do.

In a twist of white and black, creatures he had never seen before blocked his way. With a startled yelp Tebliel backed further away. They did not know of them, but the thin white creatures were Nobodies, specifically the low level Dusks. A Marine such as Coby would be able to beat them easily… but they were as flexible as Luffy, bending in impossible ways to avoid any punch while blocking his way forward. They made no attempt at offense, which worked in their favor, simply creating a moving barrier.

A few of the icy statues began to crack, but they went unnoticed in the chaos of everything else going on.

The collar was placed around Toshiro's neck just as Hyorinmaru got past the bullets and landed on the ground, ready to pounce the two men near his master.

The dragon went silent, movements stilled as if he had become truly frozen, a statue of ice like those around him.

Aizen released the Kido as Xehanort took a step back, watching Toshiro fall limp to the snowy ground, all expression vanishing from his face and his eyes going dark. Xehanort was not going to make the same mistake twice; this Nobody would not be allowed to have free will. He would become purely a puppet, used for a single purpose. As Toshiro's will was sealed away, the pendant around his neck that had kept those around him aware of his mental state went dark. Not the black that warned he was snapping and dangerous, just a dull, dark gray, as if any life it had was no longer present. It no longer recognized a spirit to link to.

As soon as the collar had touched his skin Toshiro had lost all sense of the outside world, surrounded by a never-ending nothingness. There was no sense of cold, no sound of wind, no ground beneath him or light reaching his eyes. He was suspended in nothingness… alone… trapped. The memories of all his mistakes haunted his thoughts, the fate of his friends tormenting him as he accepted that he had lost, that Xehanort would get his way. He would take control of Kingdom Hearts and bring back the Keyblade War, returning everything to darkness. He thought he could feel tears, but wasn't sure, his world holding nothing. A whispering voice enticed him to sleep, to reach into true nothing so these memories could no longer hurt him.

' _Maybe it's better if I just go to sleep…_ ' He thought, agreeing with the voice. Little by little, the nightmares faded away until… nothing. Simply…

Nothing.

Xehanort turned to look behind him as Hyorinmaru approached. The once fierce golden eyes had dulled, the hatred and aggression he normally showed had become a blank expression, a vacant stare. He did not know his true master, only had the sense that the old man in front of him was the one he should obey. There was no will to fight left in the dragon, just like in his master.

"Now I will not have to worry about you two trying to kill each other." Xehanort said to the dragon with a chuckle. "If I recall, your master attempted to tear the collar off last time, only managing to hurt himself nearly to death. He was a disobedient one as well… this time, that won't be allowed to happen."

The two former Nobodies approached now that the dragon was still, but just as they joined their allies, the icy statues of pirates around them began to crack.

"I must give these humans credit for managing to overcome both Kido and zanpaktou ability." Aizen mused aloud as he turned to the black statues around him.

"This world seems ripe with potential, but they are unnecessary now that we have him." Xehanort motioned to Toshiro. At the movement, the Ice Nobody sat up, expression blank but ready to listen. "We will make our leave."

"Stop!" Coby demanded, a light forming in his hands, but was ultimately ignored.

The Soul Reaper wasn't too pleased with being told what to do, but agreed it was pointless to wait around for the humans to meddle any further. Toshiro stood to follow them after the command, no resistance to be seen.

A rippling of air alerted them to someone not frozen or held back by Nobodies.

"Ow, what the Hell!?" Braig cried out, the arm he held up to guard his face now bleeding freely thanks to the razor sharp talons of a young harpy. "Where did you come from!?"

"I believe she is the child of one of the pirates frozen here." Aizen answered since Dextra did not speak, just landed near Braig with every intention to attack again. A quick Cure spell dealt with the wound, but the sniper was not eager to get clawed at again, his sleeve shredded. "She has proven to be quite strong."

"Nothing more than a hindrance." The dark Keyblade returned to Xehanort's hands, the end taking on a dark glow.

Though his original target was Dextra, Xehanort switched it quickly to whoever broke out of their icy prison and came charging at him. A sphere went up over the area, the ball of energy Xehanort had released from his Keyblade switching places with a harmless patch of snow, blowing up elsewhere on the ground. Though curious about the ability, the elder man had to focus on blocking the blade of a very angry Trafalgar Law.

The air filled with more sounds of breaking statues as others freed themselves, all of them ready to fight. They might have been frozen, but they had been witness to everything that had transpired. Various mixtures of fury and disgust showed on their faces, some more concerned as they turned to glance at Toshiro. The Nobody didn't even flinch at their escape, no longer able to see what was around him, never to know his allies were alive and ready to fight, still holding onto the last line of hope he had. The crowd of Nobodies cowered back as light flashed, and Coby found himself holding a Kingdom Key. For a moment he stared at it, startled, before remembering that Toshiro had said he might come to wield such a thing. The agile creatures around him were less inclined to block his way now as well, so he prepared to fight with the odd weapon. Xehanort briefly glanced at the pink-haired boy in curiosity, wondering when he had inherited the weapon, but decided that was of less importance than escaping with the Heavenly Guardian. He could always come back for Coby and any others who had been gifted.

"Toshiro!" Thursday made an attempt to approach the Nobody, holding tight to her knife so she could hopefully slice off the collar.

"Keep them away from you." Xehanort ordered calmly as he pushed back Law and stepped away to avoid another strike.

A flash of light and Toshiro was armed with both his weapons, turning toward Thursday with a blank expression. His sword aimed for her heart.

With a blur of green, Zoro got in between them, blocking the icy blade from hitting the startled Thursday. Toshiro's expression didn't change, shifting easily into a different strike. When that, too, was blocked, the mind-controlled Nobody backed off the offensive, moving away so as to keep to his orders.

"This is going to be a pain in the ass, I can tell." Zoro scowled. Jimbei tried to grab the smaller figure from behind, hoping to pin him down so they could get the collar off, but in a flash Toshiro was gone and the fishman grabbed only air. The Nobody had moved next to Xehanort, stopping the others from trying to attack the old man in case their friend stepped in their way.

"It's admirable to see you all fighting so fiercely for him… but his time here is over." Xehanort spoke up, keeping his eyes on Law since he was closest, the scowl on the pirate only amusing him. "It's time he served his purpose, and he can't do that if he's fooling around with humans. Such things as 'friendship' and 'freedom' are unimportant to his fate."

"He's not just a tool you can use!" Nami argued fiercely.

"He does not deserve to be enslaved." Jean Bart added in agreement, his fighting stance menacing with his scowling expression.

"I'm not enslaving him." Xehanort responded as if offended. "I'm simply guiding him to perform his duty properly. I could not expect any of you to understand that, however… so if you wish to fight for him so badly, I will give you the chance."

"Good, now watch us kick your ass!" Luffy snarled, launching a punch forward.

With an amused chuckle, Xehanort lifted his hand.

The ground shook fiercely. A huge chunk of land rose into the air, lifting Xehanort, Aizen, Toshiro and his dragon up into the air, Luffy's punch bouncing off the new cliff face harmlessly. Braig and Isa held their weapons at the ready, kept below the new 'mountain' to be opponents for the angry pirates. More twisting Nobodies appeared along the snowy landscape. Along with the Dusks, the sharp shooting Sniper Nobodies wielding guns and the bulky hammer using Berserker Nobodies came to surround them. These were completely different creatures from the Heartless… but the pirates were not intimidated in the least.

As agile as the Dusks were, Dextra slashed apart the head of the nearest one with little effort.

"You are a creepy kid." Braig grimaced, tensing when the harpy turned her eyes back to him. She kept too close to take a shot at her, but he was good at keeping out of harm's way, eventually managing to get out of her range as she switched targets to the Nobodies approaching her family. The sniper took a quick breather before pulling out his guns and taking shots at the humans, trying to keep them off balance and confused.

Not one for long distance, Isa held up his claymore and charged in, going for Zoro first when the swordsman made to strike first, the two exchanging heavy blows, savage grins on their faces. They both lived for the exhilaration of the raw power of a one on one fight.

While their crews turned to deal with the new enemies, Law and Luffy stood together staring up at the peak where the two bosses watched them all below with malicious sneers. The two Captains scowled right back, itching to beat down their arrogance.

"I'm starting to really hate magic." Law said with a growl, glaring at Xehanort. Devil Fruits had rules, an easy weakness, but magic defied everything, and this old man was clearly expert at it. "It won't be easy to rescue him."

"Well we're going to." Luffy responded with little hesitation, hitting his fists together as a threat to the two above pretending they were gods. "Whatever it takes!"

"We'll do our best to help!" Coby called out, running up next to them with Keyblade in hand. Tebliel moved herself near the kids, and while Thursday gave her a distrusting look, understood that the angel user had good intentions with helping them, even if she'd made bad choices. Plus, the angel's ability was useful for stilling the movements of the Nobodies, put into a daze and then easy to eliminate. "No one deserves to be used like that."

"I need to get close to Aizen to try and deal with this item he has that makes him so powerful." Law had no problems including Coby in the conversation; he was stuck here too after all. "If I can steal that, we may be able to at least beat him. This Xehanort… we don't know anything about him."

"I'll just kick his ass." Luffy spouted with a huff.

"Sure, just be careful about it." Law didn't bother trying to explain to Luffy that going in without a plan was a bad idea. The younger man never had a plan and was now considered among the most dangerous pirates in the world.

"How are you hoping to get up there?" Coby questioned.

"I can use Room to get up there… getting close enough without getting killed is the harder part." Law answered.

"True… he was able to destroy both our ships with one spell." The boy nodded, referring to the wreckage of Marine warships. "And I saw he managed to paralyze all of you briefly."

"Hitsugaya wasn't kidding when he said the guy was powerful… but power always leads to arrogance. There has to be a way to use that."

"Overpowering through numbers would be the best option, but they clearly thought of that by sending out these creatures."

Law agreed having more help against the leaders themselves would be the safest option, but they couldn't let their own crews get overpowered as well trying to outnumber Aizen. Luffy no longer cared for the conversation and was about to make his own way up, back up or not. He owed Aizen a strong punch to the face.

Shots echoed through the air, cutting off his idea, everyone not engaged directly in a confrontation whipping around to the source to see who was joining in now. The Nobodies were briefly stunned by the bullets, but not killed, the serum imbued in the bullets not as harmful to them as it was the Heartless. It was enough that the pirates could finish them off before turning to look at the newcomers with the rest of them, Isa and Braig backing off briefly to see what they were dealing with.

"Well this is an interesting battle going on right now." The lazy tone belonged to the tall, yellow-suited Admiral Kizaru. He had been the one chosen for this mission once Maleficent offered the location, since Akainu had doubts Fujitora would do it properly after letting Toshiro go once already. With him, as if in answer to the problem of reinforcements, an entire troop of Marines. A few higher ranking Marines stood by as well, namely the rotund Haki expert Sentomaru, the old iron-fisted Vice Admiral Garp and the gray-haired cigar using Vice Admiral Smoker, all men the pirate crews knew well and were very strong. Smoker had his ever faithful Captain Tashigi at his side, the female sword user at the ready behind the Smoke fruit user. Seeing them, Coby hurried over to Garp, knowing it wouldn't be good to be seen next to pirates and also to offer a report on what was happening here.

"This is a battle you are not welcome to." Xehanort called down to them, annoyance clear in his voice. This was not a battle he cared for. A much bigger war awaited him, one that needed to be carefully set up and groomed, he didn't have time to waste on this world.

"That's unfortunate, but I've got orders from the top to take that strange child you have there back with me." Kizaru responded with a light shrug. "Rumor has it he's got an interesting power, and the heads of the World Government would like to get a hold of that."

"They could never hope to control it." The Keyblade user scoffed. "By coming here you have only chosen to be eliminated."

"Now that sounds like a threat." Light flashed and Kizaru casually held forward a blade he'd created of pure light, revealing his fruit power to be something quite dangerous to Heartless and Nobodies alike. Xehanort narrowed his eyes a bit at this reveal.

"None of you could ever understand the power beyond your world." He stated with a heavy sigh. "But if you wish to get a taste," he motioned behind him to the collared Ice Nobody staring blankly ahead, "then let the Heavenly Guardian show you its power! Reveal to us Kingdom Hearts!"

An odd hush fell over those on the island as Toshiro closed his eyes, the air becoming saturated with a strange chill. A hollow gray light enveloped his form, stirring his hair and clothes as if a wind swirled around him. Beneath his feet, a pattern came to life, a four pointed star glowing brightly. Above them, the clouds covering the sky over the Winter Island grew dark, churning dangerously as they began to form a spiral through the sky.

"The Hell is a power like Kingdom Hearts?" Zoro wondered, scowling up at the sky. None of them knew much about it, as Toshiro had avoided the topic due to his own lack of knowledge.

Each of the four points of the star beneath him let off a strong beam of light as Toshiro brought Frozen Heavens to his hand, holding it in front of him with both hands as the light began to gather above him. The sky thundered in anticipation, something gathering behind it.

"Stop him!" Smoker commanded the Marines on a signal from Kizaru. Whatever was happening was dangerous, they couldn't let Toshiro complete it.

Seeing the troop prepare to fire, Aizen Flash Stepped down from the peak, standing suddenly before the Marines with his hands held up before him, a blue light gathering between them.

" _Soren Sokatsui._" With the name spoken, a burst of twin blue flames shot forward with dangerous speed. This was the spell that had obliterated two Marin warships.

Snow blocked vision for a moment after the explosion, but Aizen didn't need sight to know not all of them were dead. The high ranks had managed to get away, and the outer groups of rookies managed to scrape by, but he had still taken away a good number of them.

"Ooh, how scary." Kizaru spoke up from his new position up in the air, his form glowing as he utilized his light to help him stay up. "So this is the magic we were warned about. That would have hurt."

"I wouldn't have bothered if I thought it would kill you." Aizen responded with a chuckle, holding his arms to his side in an invitation to attack. "It's not often I meet humans worthy of playing with, but I did need to ensure you didn't interfere."

"You did kill quite a few good men." Kizaru readied his sword of light once more. "I'll need to pay you back for that."

"I look forward to it." Aizen's grin widened.

Law watched the two immense powers clash, multiple plans going through his head on how to get close enough to remove the Hogyoku without getting killed. With Aizen weakened, they would stand more of a chance getting around Xehanort to free Toshiro.

His attention was drawn back to said Nobody as the light flared brighter. Toshiro lifted his Keyblade to point to the sky, a strong light shooting out of the end up into the sky, bringing with it the gathered light from the pattern. A bright pillar formed up into the center of the spiraling clouds, air swirling around it, drawn in by the power. Then, slowly, the pillar began to thin, exhausting its power up into the sky. Once it vanished fully into the dark clouds….

As if shoved aside, the clouds parted in a hurry, revealing a night sky above them. Shining down with an azure glow was an enormous heart-shaped moon, its light covering the battlefield in a warm embrace. Kingdom Hearts. An existence of pure light, the very heart of every world there ever was.

And as they watched, darkness began to eat at its edges.

* * *

 **Back to regular updates for now, just wanted to catch up on my backlog of chapters. Once I actually finish i'll go back to one a day until they're all up, but now that i'm closer to my actual point in my writing it'll be back to two a week, especially cause finals are this week so I won't be able to write much.**


	51. Immortal? This Doctor Says Otherwise

The sight of Kingdom Hearts brought on a sense of wonder and comfort. It was a power meant to keep the hearts of all safe. But as a pitch black plague began to crawl along the edge, a sense of dread made those present on the island shudder. They didn't need to know about Kingdom Hearts to know this was extremely bad. The appearance of a massive horde of Heartless wasn't good either, the creatures swarming to the pure light, eager to claim its power in an instinctual attempt to obtain salvation, but only able to cause it harm.

The darkness seemed to emanate from Toshiro himself, the light once surrounding him to summon the moon now pitch black. He was trapped where he was in the star pattern at his feet, feeding into Kingdom Hearts a terrible darkness, another source drawing in all the Heartless. Several giant Heartless rose from the shadow of the peak, enormous heart shaped holes through their bodies. Darksides, the most powerful of the pure Heartless, their forms muscular and pitch black, hair a tangled mess of shadow-like tendrils, tiny dark wings at their shoulders. Their appearance generally marked the end of a world as they dug through it to the heart. If they weren't taken out quickly, this battle would end with the death of the planet, the souls living on it scattered or left to be swallowed by Kingdom Hearts.

Fortunately, this world was not to be taken lightly. With the more annoying lesser Nobodies and Heartless out of the way, Zoro and Sanji saw fit to target the big ones, their respective forms of combat dealing heavy damage to these monstrous Heartless. Jimbei kept to crowd control with powerful water-based martial arts, allowing his allies to focus on staying grouped up to go after Xehanort. Dextra took to the air, attempting a preemptive strike on the old master since her wings could take her to the peak. Smirking, Xehanort made a signal with his hands.

With a snarl, Hyorinmaru leapt forth to block her way. The harpy was quick enough to dodge a fatal snap of teeth, but she was still quite surprised to find him attacking. Her mind quickly adjusted, removing him from her circle of people to defend and going on the offensive, though her talons did little against the enormous icy body, a body that recovered quicker than she could damage it. The two fliers continued to battle in the air as time went on, Toshiro still left to continue corrupting Kingdom Hearts.

Law approached Garp and Coby, hoping their relations to Luffy would earn him a bit of time to come up with a plan. He would never willingly work with Marines if he could avoid it, but this was a nightmare scenario that needed cooperation from all sides. Seeing the Supernova approach, Garp was about to punch the younger man into next week, but Coby stepped between them, silently asking his mentor hold back.

"The Hell you want?" Garp asked of the surgeon instead.

"That man fighting Admiral Kizaru has something that's going to make him impossible to defeat, but I have a way to get it away from him. I just need to get close enough."

Curious, Garp glanced at where Aizen and Kizaru exchanged projectile attacks. At the moment both of them seemed to be putting minimal effort into their fight, but the old Vice-Admiral noticed a strain that was not usually present on the light user's face. A moment more of watching and he could see that Kizaru was actually on the defensive despite being the one using the more offensive abilities. Aizen was throwing out powerful Kido with little effort, the magic used by spirits easily capable of harming even a Logia. In terms of energy and flexibility, Aizen had the other beat.

"He's from the same place as Hitsugaya Toshiro, Vice-Admiral, so his magic doesn't have a weakness like Kairoseki." Coby added on.

"And the item I mentioned is making him immortal, that's why he doesn't have a problem throwing out those spells of his without any regard to stamina." Law continued.

"So you remove this item and we can win?" Garp questioned just to be sure he understood.

"I have no doubts about it; remove his immortality, and the powers of this world can beat him, even if he thinks himself a god."

"What about his friend?" Garp motioned with a grunt to the aged Keyblade Wielder still standing with a smug next to Toshiro.

"We'll come up with something." That was all Law could promise. Toshiro explained everything he could about Aizen, knowing that enemy well enough as they were from the same world. But Xehanort was someone even Toshiro couldn't figure out, so he had nothing to offer his allies either, leaving everyone in the dark. All they could do was keep fighting, as they always did.

"If one of us can get close, you can switch places, can't you?" Coby asked.

"Yes, but he needs to be off guard or distracted, he's too fast for me to just switch in."

"Oh he'll have plenty to be distracted about." Cracking his knuckles, Garp started coming up with an idea.

Law was more concerned about if it would work than for Garp's safety. Everything banked on getting it first try or Aizen would find out there was someone who could take the Hogyoku and they would never get another chance. They only had one chance while the mastermind was still ignorant of the powers around him, satisfied with being strong enough to kill any potential threat. They had to outsmart him… and from what they'd learned that was not an easy task.

Smoker and Tashigi were doing their best to protect the remaining Marines from the horde of Heartless constantly spawning from the darkness. In a lull between waves, Jimbei and Robin found themselves near the pair.

"Why is it always your crew that seems to be in the middle of things like this?" Smoker grumbled at them, turning their way as if to fight them.

"That boy only wanted help, he never wanted to be used like this." Robin argued back firmly.

"Even his attempt to take his own life to prevent this was thwarted." Jimbei added on sadly. Smoker gave a slight twitch, the two cigars in his mouth shifting as he bit down on them a little harder.

"A witch appeared in a meeting with the Admirals and Vice Admirals and said he has some kind of unique status and power; did you know of this?" Smoker questioned, Tashigi behind him still looking a little startled at hearing the Nobody had been so harshly forced into servitude.

"Bits and pieces as we traveled, that elderly man controlling him knows more than Toshiro himself does. Toshiro doesn't want to bring harm to anyone, so please, we must save him." Robin answered, pleading.

"Orders from above want us to capture him." Tashigi warned, and while she knew she had to follow those orders, seeing who it was, what was happening, and hearing just a small bit of what he went through made her question if it was okay to save the Nobody from one master only to force him onto another. So far, the only thing this Kingdom Hearts had brought was more trouble. Was this a power that this world could handle?

"If you want to fight us afterwards we will do so gladly, he deserves to be free." Robin, knowing more about the child than they, left no doubt about her words. Jimbei's expression made it clear he would follow her example, and no doubt the rest of the Straw Hats would as well.

Smoker and Tashigi shared a glance. They weren't strangers to working alongside the Straw Hats, but this time they had little room to do so again, even if they agreed that the best result of this fight was for Toshiro to leave it, that way this power of his would no longer draw so much attention and chaos.

"Don't expect help, but don't expect us to be getting close to that nonsense either." Smoker scowled, motioning to the well of darkness still circling Toshiro and bleeding into Kingdom Hearts. Though still hostile, he made his point that he wouldn't have a hand in continuing to enslave a child, even if he also wouldn't help free him.

A knowing smile on her face, Robin nodded before crossing her arms to help fight off the Heartless with her powers, Jimbei following suit with a blast of water.

Aizen glanced away from Kizaru for a moment when he sensed something barreling right for him. A Flash Step got him out of the way, but he stared curiously at the cannon ball that had lodged itself into the snow covered ground where he had been standing. He had not seen any cannons brought onto the island, and he definitely would have destroyed them in his earlier attack… perhaps they had a back row of soldiers bringing one in that just hadn't arrived yet?

Looking to the side revealed that to not be the case. A wagon of cannon balls had indeed been led through the snow by a willing Coby… but it was not a gun that fired them. With a smug grin on his face, the old Marine tossed one up easily in his hands before sending it flying with a very accurate punch. It was easy enough to dodge, but Aizen was a bit intrigued by the human's strength, and Coby's as well for being able to run off and drag back such an arsenal in such a short amount of time. Unlike his current opponent, who was taking a momentary breather as he, too, tried to understand what Garp was doing, these men didn't have any powers. Just pure strength.

Figuring it best to get rid of this annoyance so as to continue his goal of holding back the stronger Marine, Aizen turned to approach Garp. Coby gulped nervously, not sure if they could hold off such an intense power, the screaming voices of the Hogyoku still muddling his thoughts. Fortunately, a blade of light made Aizen pause to defend. Kizaru wasn't completely sure what was going on, but he couldn't let Aizen go after any other target. From their fight, the Admiral knew he couldn't let this being go after any of his men. He had to find a weakness, unaware that the group of Marines around him were already working on it, willing to use Law's powers if it meant they could take down this monstrous magician.

Several more cannon balls came flying at Aizen as he kept up the battle with Kizaru, each one dodged with a brief Flash Step. Kizaru was able to keep up with the speed at least, which kept Aizen from moving his attention elsewhere, the Reaper frowning in annoyance at the Marine pair for bothering him.

"Enough playing then." He sighed, prepared to use a much stronger Kido to end the light user.

His gaze flicked upwards as he noticed a sphere engulf the area around him. This was the power of that spot-wearing pirate. If he recalled correctly from earlier observations, the sphere gave the pirate impressive range, as well as the ability to switch the places of things. A power like that on top of Kizaru's power and Garp's barrage would be a hassle. After all, fighting when your body was in separate pieces, alive or not, was a bit difficult, and having your position changed without consent could be disorienting.

Keeping in mind the sphere, Aizen continued the Kido he was using on Kizaru.

" _Kurohitsugi_." A haze of black and purple began to form around Kizaru, the Admiral looking around in surprise. What was this?

As the black box began to form, Aizen looking smug, another name was called out.

" _Shambles!_ "

Suddenly it was Aizen that was surrounded in the enclosing black box, Kizaru turning back, still confused but willing to accept it. Mentally cursing for using a Kido that worked slowly and allowed for places to be switched, Aizen raised his Spiritual Pressure. The lower ranking Marines fell to the ground as if gravity had tripled above them, the stronger ones looking tense. The Kido shattered before it finished forming.

Aizen turned to glare at Law, the pirate simply smirking back. It would seem this man's power would be more irritating than he first thought, as he could switch the places of the Kido caster and their target, basically rendering most Kido pointless as he would have to defend himself from his own attacks.

He also didn't really like how smug Kizaru looked once the Admiral realized what Law was up to. Well, mostly what he was up to, since Kizaru didn't know about the immortality item.

"I suppose that means I need to deal with your power first." Aizen spoke, brow furrowed as he thought quickly. This wasn't the same as fighting the new Squad Five Captain Hirako Shinji, who's ability made everything in one's vision opposite of what it was, this was physically changing places at a moment's notice, even with Flash Step. As long as he was in this sphere, Law was the orchestrator of everyone's movements.

"Normally I wouldn't interfere in a pirate being killed, but I've got a feeling I shouldn't let you do that." Kizaru held up his sword of light in a stance of challenge. He would be the other problem; if Aizen left the sphere, Law wouldn't be a problem, but Kizaru was fast enough to keep him inside if he wanted. These were all powers working against him too well, and without the ability to trap them in illusions – and not even his zanpaktou to fight with – he was quickly finding himself at a disadvantage. All he had above them now was the Hogyoku. He would just have to wear them out and then kill them, they were only human after all.

His plan now was to go on the defensive. If he didn't throw out any Kido or dash in for hand-to-hand, he couldn't have his place switched against his will, at least not in a position he couldn't get out of. If he kept his guard up, even being moved around he could still react to anything, and neglecting Kido meant he saved energy. Kizaru and Garp returned to their barrage, trying to pin him down. Aizen kept aware of his surroundings as he evaded the double offensive, all the while trying to figure out how to get close to Law to kill him quickly, knowing the surgeon was on alert same as he. This human was a natural strategist as well, and no doubt had information from Hitsugaya while Aizen had nothing on Law but observations. A battle of wits was not something he had expected, but the challenge… he grinned. Nothing was more entertaining than ruthlessly defeating an opponent at strategy, watching their hope fall apart. It had been his favorite part in leading along young Toshiro to his doom. The look on the Nobody's face when everything failed, when he couldn't even take his own life to save those around him, doomed to be nothing but a puppet, it was the ultimate victory for Aizen.

Aizen made an attempt to get close to Law, poised to run his hand through the human's chest, but in a flash the pirate was replaced with a Heartless that had wondered into the Room. It was destroyed on impact, Aizen looking annoyed as he located Law's new position. He wasn't able to chase just yet, his attention back on Kizaru as a volley of light rained down on the field, taking all of his focus to avoid. A defensive Kido was useful to keep any of the lasers from hitting him directly.

"Whoo, you're good at darting around and making this hard." Kizaru drawled, standing at ease for a moment.

"I would never allow the likes of humans to defeat me." Aizen scowled back. At this point he was just annoyed, as it was never this difficult to kill anyone other than Kurosaki Ichigo, and letting that Substitute Soul Reaper get as strong as he did was his own fault, his own curiosity allowing someone to gain more power than him. These humans didn't have that kind of power, but their adaptability was exceeding his assumptions about the human race.

"How about some steel!?" Garp launched another deadly cannon ball, more accurate than any cannon could be.

A quick Kido eliminated the oncoming projectile, Law not bothering to switch their places since a different plan was being set up. This helped to make Aizen assume he didn't need to worry about being switched anymore, as Law was likely out of stamina. Instead, Law was using a different skill. Scan would allow him to find where to strike…

"Your strength is impressive, but I have defeated far stronger attacks." Aizen scoffed at the pathetic attempt to catch him by surprise.

"Fending off a cannon ball isn't too impressive, you might want to check your arrogance." Kizaru darted in from the other side, getting in close to Aizen with his sword of light. Without Haki like others of this world or a sword of his own, Aizen had to avoid the blade of pure light energy, ducking under the swing. A small Kido barrier blocked the next strike like a shield.

"I could say the same to you." Aizen smirked. "Power over light is nothing to laugh at, but I have outlasted the flames of the sun and years immobilized in prison, you will eventually tire while I can keep on going."

Kizaru gave a simple grunt in response, leaning back for another strike.

Sensing another cannon ball, Aizen turned to be rid of it, planning to prove a point about his strength by batting it away with a hand before turning back to finish off Kizaru. Garp was already holding another to fire, his grin never fading even as his attacks were constantly bested.

There was a shift in the air behind him and Aizen noticed the strong light Spirit Energy of Kizaru had been replaced by someone else.

" _Mes!_ "

The cannon ball knocked away, Aizen turned to deal with Law as quickly as he could, but Law had already taken advantage of the distraction and confusion. His hand struck against Aizen's chest. The impact itself barely bothered Aizen, and had that been all he would have laughed and slaughtered the pirate where he stood… but an ability had been activated that Aizen could not have foreseen, because Law did not use it at all in his fights before this, avoiding it just for this purpose.

A transparent blue cube was pushed out of Aizen's body, and inside it was not a heart this time, but a small orb of a bluish-purple color. It looked like a glowing marble, but the immense power it gave off left no doubt that this was no ordinary item. It almost seemed to have its own will, seeking to engulf and erase the presence of all those around it.

To be exact, the Hogyoku WAS trying to do just that. Normally Mes allowed whatever organ was removed to still be connected to the original body, but due to its spiritual nature, and not having an original body, once the Hogyoku was no longer in contact with Aizen, it began to immediately seek a new master. Trapped in a cube, it could not seek out such a being, controlled by Law's will for now without being able to leech away at his Spirit Energy, essentially saving the pirate's life from becoming another victim of the cursed item.

"Impossible!" This was a scenario Aizen never would have thought possible. The Hogyoku had been separated briefly before, but having already fused with it, he had been able to basically reform his body around the item, chosen by it. This time, however, the pirate's ability had basically severed any connection, a perfect surgery that left Aizen without its power. His experiments with the Heartless and the battle with the Hollows had given Law what he needed to separate the spiritual and physical.

In a bit of a panic now, Aizen turned quickly to grab the falling box containing the source of his regenerative abilities and inexhaustible power. He soon learned that the humans of this world had a high speed movement as well, if not as fast as Flash Step, fast enough that Coby, someone who had learned to master it, was able to dart in, grab the item, and escape before Aizen could respond.

Though the box kept him safe from physical contact with the item, it's intense will latched onto the pink-haired Marine as the closest soul, and Coby's sensitive Observation Haki went haywire, exploding into a massive migraine that put him on his knees. Concerned, Garp abandoned the cannon balls and went to check on his student.

"You fools have no concept of what you have just taken." Aizen turned to Law with a fierce scowl. His casual, passive attitude had completely shattered, revealing the monster for what he was, and the pressure in the air was still intense. Having used his abilities in such quick succession, the Hogyoku itself taking a lot of energy to remove, Law was doing the best he could just to remain standing, his Room gone.

"I knew enough." Law managed to smirk in response, angering the Soul Reaper more. If someone didn't come to help, Aizen would kill him for sure.

Somewhere above them all, movement stirred, a streak across the sky like a shooting star.

* * *

 **I guess I should have mentioned going back to the Monday/Thursday schedule on this chapter, since it's that "start" of the week haha. Back to studying for me.**

 **Actually, I might have to skip Thursday's, since that's one of my finals, so I suppose expect the next one... let's say Saturday once I finish all my tests.**


	52. Fighting Back With Everything

Fortunately, whether intentional or not, Kizaru returned to the battle with Aizen, standing menacingly behind the spirit. Though he didn't know what the item taken from Aizen was, he understood that now, with it gone, they had a chance. And despite the way he spoke, Kizaru never let a chance slip past him.

Despite the Marine behind him, Aizen held a hand forward to launch a silent Kido at Law, knowing the pirate was weakened currently. He might have lost his regeneration source, but he could survive an attack from Kizaru as long as he killed the one who took the Hogyoku from him. Perhaps that might return it to him, and then he could take down Kizaru as well.

Something flew past, smashing into Aizen's hand and knocking the Kido off course into the snow. With a slight growl, Aizen turned to this newcomer, shaking his hand to relive the sting from whatever had hit him.

"Hey, that's kind of fun." Shanks himself stood by with a smug look, holding his hand out next to him. In a flash of light, the Kingdom Key returned to his hand. He had thrown it. The weapon's magic allowed it to make itself a fairly accurate projectile, so a nice hard throw was all it took to keep Aizen from attacking.

"There's more Keyblade Wielders?" Aizen scowled. He had seen Coby with one; how many others had Toshiro managed to give the magic weapon to? And this human was no joke. Like the Admiral, Shanks had an aura far past that of an ordinary human, but there was no aura of a Devil Fruit. This man had surpassed human limitations with nothing but his own will… not unlike Kurosaki Ichigo had done. There was instant wariness in Aizen's expression.

"I'm not so good at the key bit, but you can be sure of a good challenge with me." Letting the Keyblade vanish into wherever it went, Shanks drew his actual sword, his crew behind him ready to fight. They had arrived right as Kingdom Hearts had appeared, seeing Toshiro up on the mountain with a strange figure that clearly held the boy hostage. They may have only known the Nobody for a day, but they couldn't let this stand, and more importantly they couldn't let these people bring so much danger to their world. Pirates might be law breakers, but they lived here too, and would not have that taken from them.

"To think there were worlds such as this one…" Now a little uncertain with Kizaru and the Red-Hair Pirates staring him down, Aizen thought of how to get himself out of this situation. Best case scenario was to get the Hogyoku back and crush them all immediately.

Said item was currently still held in the shaky hands of Coby, the young Marine doing his best just to hold back the intense will flooding his mind so as not to be sucked into it. It's never-ending screams for freedom and an underlying lust for more souls was slowly degrading his spirit, and before too much longer he might lose the fight.

Garp was about to just knock the hellish item from his student's hand when a creature suddenly approached, a flurry of feathers and wisps of light, a startling sight. The only reason Garp didn't immediately attack it to defend Coby was the fact it did not approach with hostile intention. An odd sense of calm came over the Vice-Admiral instead, a strange influence telling him it was okay, she was one their side. She?

"T-Tebliel?" Coby managed to focus briefly on the odd angel creature. He had been told her Angel fruit was a Zoan type, similar to the Buddha fruit that the previous Fleet Admiral possessed and therefore having a full "animal" form. This must have been that form, a mass of wings and gentle light obscuring most of the actual body. A gentle hand reached out, taking the Hogyoku from Coby, recognizing it as a threat to those she had accepted as allies. As soon as she did, the will weighing so heavily around them suddenly ceased, focusing on the heavenly being carrying it. Coby, the kind existence that he was, had earned the angel's favor in saving her from the pirates and giving her a place to go when Maleficent betrayed her, and in return her true form had risen to protect him. Perhaps she had also sensed the cries and tortured pleas of those inside the Hogyoku, and as an angel does… she sought to redeem them.

The true nature of the Hogyoku was not its immense power granting immortality to the one who controlled it, as most of the Soul Society thought, nor to blur the lines between Hollow and Soul Reaper as it had been regularly used for. A tiny few knew its true nature, a nature that allowed for it to have such powers at all.

It granted wishes. The deepest desires of those around it with a strong enough Spirit Energy to convince it to grant such a wish. Soul Reapers like Aizen, Ichigo and others had been able to draw out this power, most of them unknowingly.

As a regular human, Tebliel would not have the power necessary for any kind of influence over the Hogyoku. But she possessed a unique ability that bypassed the need for such requirements. The holy status of an "angel" alone was enough to give it a demand. A simple demand of one who just wanted to free the tortured souls and protect her friend, and needed her full use of angelic influence to do so.

 _Release your pain and suffering and exist in this Hell no longer._

Inside the cube, the Hogyoku cracked.

"What did you just do!?" Noticing this, Aizen turned his rage on the strange angel. The Hogyoku was something he had poured everything into, a project spanning decades, with plans over plans to ensure he would be the most powerful in existence, and it was cracking. Law watched from where he had escaped to a safe distance with a surprised expression. They could destroy an item said to be completely unstoppable? An item so many had suffered and died trying to get rid of?

The cursed item began to flicker, sensing Aizen's desire to keep it, to continue to use its power. It sensed his wish to remain a god.

Tebliel closed her hands around the cube holding the Hogyoku. When she opened them again, the box had dispersed, and only dust remained in her hands until the bitter cold wind carried it away. Her wish had been granted, the souls were free and the Hogyoku had power no longer, fading from existence.

"NO!"

The air became unbearably heavy, even to those of power, allowing Aizen to Flash Step over to Tebliel. One hit and even she would be killed. Just as he always chided others for their blindness to others in their rage, Aizen did not see Garp and Coby strike until they hit him. Even if it was not nearly as harmful as it would have been to a human, it made him miss his target. Tebliel reacted to the danger, a few of her wings spreading. The wisps of light spun rapidly, forming a barrier, one that began to spread out. It engulfed Garp and Coby, embracing them into its protection, but when Aizen tried to get close he might as well have run into an impenetrable wall. The pure defensive will of the angel stood up to even the fury of a man who had reached the realm of gods with his power. She could not move or change form while the barrier was up, and she would eventually run out of energy, but until then those inside her protection were unreachable, and a similar glow as before enveloped the area inside, putting out a healing aura over those inside, stronger than that in her base form.

Law was apparently allowed inside as well, slipping in before Aizen noticed him and giving a sigh of relief at the healing aura, just glad the angel thought him enough of an ally to allow him in. Only Aizen and the creatures of darkness were banned from the sphere. Kizaru didn't step in, choosing to engage Aizen once more, Shanks not far behind with his crew spreading to help deal with the constant swarm of Heartless and Nobodies.

"So we got rid of that orb, now what?" Coby turned and asked of Law since the pirate knew more about the situation.

"The hope is he can at least be killed now, but he proved he's not just powerful because of that item." Law replied with a grunt. "The plan now, for me at least, is to find a way to Hitsugaya. I need a way to get that black dragon of his close enough I can use a new technique I found to return those two souls back to one, and that should help him snap out of the influence that collar has on him."

"That'll stop that bizarre heart and all these monsters?" Garp questioned.

"If Hitsugaya gets free will back, yes, it should stop. He's basically being used like a conduit right now for Xehanort, the man up there next to him. If Hitsugaya returns to normal and breaks out of the collar, the darkness can no longer get through him, and then we can stamp it out for good."

"Malicious witch though she was, that Maleficent wasn't kidding about his power..."

Law frowned a bit, wondering what lies Maleficent had told to make the World Government want Toshiro so bad. Unfortunately, it was likely truth for most of it, considering what he was, and Xehanort was only proving how dangerous it was for Toshiro to belong to anyone but himself.

"No, she probably wasn't, which means the sooner we can free him and get him off this planet the better off we'll all be." The surgeon spoke, hoping these two Marines, who had always proven to be for the people and not for "justice", would agree with him.

"Well, Fujitora liked him, and if your Devil Fruit is what gets him away from that evil bastard up there then let's get to it." Garp didn't seem to have any objections with saving the Nobody. "Even the Fleet Admiral can't do anything if that boy goes flying off to another world."

"This might sound odd coming from me, but Hitsugaya has a much larger role to play outside this world, and if the World Government chains him here it could mean the end of all worlds. We have to make sure he gets away."

"You're right, that hero crap does sound weird coming from a pirate, especially the man who brought in a hundred hearts to our doorstep demanding to become a Shichibukai." Garp huffed with a slight chuckle. "Let's just get you up there and get that kid free."

"Your grandson will be helpful in that effort, and some of his crew, the issue will be gathering everyone together with the constant swarm."

"Tebliel, how big can you make this barrier before it puts too much strain?" Coby asked the angel at the center of their current hideout.

There was no response, but there was a slight ruffle of feathers and the barrier grew a bit larger. It could hold a decent sized group inside, however it was clear she couldn't cover enough ground to bring in those further inland near the mountain. They needed a way to call them in so they had a safe place to plan things out. The other problem would be avoiding suspicion. Aizen might have snapped, but Xehanort still looked calm as ever, it was unlikely he would miss his enemies converging into a giant glowing sphere to whisper amongst themselves.

"Anyone who is injured should come inside this barrier, we'll figure things out as we go." Law spoke up. Improvising wasn't his strong suit, but that's why his first plan was to get to Luffy. If there was one reliable thing about the Straw Hat pirate, it was that he could find a miracle in any situation.

"In that case, I'll get back to teaching that Reaper guy a lesson." Garp turned towards where Kizaru and Shanks had Aizen on the defensive. Despite going up against two of the biggest powers on the planet, he still managed to hold his ground and cause some damage, but it was clear he was pissed and had no more plans.

Letting him do just that, Law left the barrier and ran back into the fray, the healing aura giving back his stamina quickly since he hadn't been physically injured. He saved his powers for now, not yet sure how much he might need to bring Toshiro back to normal. The rest of this fight depended on the success of his new technique, something he hadn't even gotten to test fully yet. And Xehanort would no doubt be on guard now after seeing Aizen lose the Hogyoku.

"Xehanort!" Luffy's furious shout let all on the island know that the youngest Captain was having no more of this, even using his enemy's proper name to properly emphasize his anger. The old man only smirked in response… until he saw a huge portion of the Heartless swarm crushed under the sudden, immense will that Luffy poured out. Conqueror's Haki, a power Xehanort didn't know yet, and so quite startling to witness.

"Continue to struggle if you wish, but it will be in vain. I will have Kingdom Hearts." He didn't speak loud enough to be heard, just a judgement passed through the wind as he looked up to Kingdom Hearts. Soon it would be within his grasp, the darkness devouring it and then everything else. He would have his eternal power.

Looking back down he spotted the one who had dared attack him before, the pirate adorned with spots. That one's power was dangerous, and he knew it was this man that Toshiro had hoped could cure him. Xehanort couldn't allow this specific pirate to get too close.

"Take him down." The Master ordered of his two subordinates below the mountain, Isa and Braig.

With the harpy distracting the dragon, Braig had taken to picking a fight with Franky and Usopp, unable to pull away easily from the strange plant ammo from the sniper and heavy fire-power from the cyborg. His only saving grace fighting these two expert marksmen was his ability over Gravity, confusing them with shots from portals and moving around above them, but the pirates were not easily dealt with. It didn't help when a huge thundercloud came through the sky, forcing him back on the ground in range of nasty plants.

"Either get zapped or strangled… I think I'll take my chances with Spot." Braig said with a grumble, escaping the now three pestering him through a portal and finding his way towards Law.

Isa was locked in battle with Zoro, the odd moon that was Kingdom Hearts powering up the blue haired figure like a berserker and so giving the swordsman some trouble. Focused as they were on each other, Isa chose to let his comrade deal with the order and continue this test of strength.

Law came to a halt as the air ripped open, Braig stepping out with his odd guns in hand, blocking the other's way to Luffy. If he used the Room, deflecting the bullets wouldn't be that difficult… but he needed to conserve as much stamina as possible.

"Yo, your powers are going to be a problem if I let you by." The crystal sniper spoke with a sneer.

"That's the plan, now get lost before I have your heart removed for good."

"I came back from it once, I can do it again."

Law smirked.

"Not the way I do it."

Braig's own smirk faltered, wondering how literal Law was about removing a heart. So far he'd only seen the man remove the Hogyoku.

"I'm the Surgeon of Death for a reason." Law put as much threat into his tone as he could, hoping to avoid using his powers and scaring off the one-eyed fighter.

"Yeah, we'll see about that." Braig was worried about Law's spatial control abilities in the dome he made, but orders were orders, they couldn't let him get to Toshiro.

The guns came up and Law quickly dodged to the side to avoid the piercing purple crystals. Problem was, as it was with all these strangers, the bullets were magic. They froze in place and changed trajectory before firing again at max velocity once more. What's more, another set of shots were coming at him. Scowling, Law was about to set up a Room to send them back at their owner.

A huge thud of metal and something else took the hits, the crystals bouncing harmlessly off a giant metal robot. The mech stood taller than a building, with strong resemblances to the human Franky just with a bulky metal body proudly bearing the straw Hat symbol on its belly, a giant sword at its back and a drill horn as a sort of hairdo.

"SUPER SAVE!" Franky's voice echoed from the giant as it struck into his trademark pose, a show of power. The size alone was enough to make Braig back up nervously; his bullets weren't meant for metal opponents.

"Can't get away from us that easy!" Usopp popped his head out of a mount near the head with a triumphant grin. Apparently when Braig had run off, Franky had signaled his robot, General Franky, to head out from the Sunny to their position, using it to jump back in. The enemy sniper running off had given them the perfect timing to do so, as before they were too busy fighting.

"What is with you crazy people?" Braig scowled, trying to figure out where to shoot. Usopp would have been the only "weak spot" but he was quickly covered by metal as he returned inside the mech. Maybe the joints? A vent somewhere? Either way, he couldn't be dealing with this right now, he needed to take out the surgeon. "Hey! Where'd he go!?"

In the confusion and flurry of snow that General Franky had stirred up on his arrival, Law wasted no time skirting around the side and escaping. Braig tried to follow, but an enormous blue hand came crashing down next to him, threatening to crush him if he hadn't warped up into the air to avoid it.

"For crying out loud, you-" He didn't get to finish as a bolt of lightning knocked him back to the snow. "Oh come on!"

Zeus just laughed menacingly, returned to the battle as well. Braig might as well have not escaped them, only making his situation worse letting them get the mech.

"I suppose if you want something done, don't depend on fools." Xehanort sighed from his perch above, bringing his hand up, shrouded in a dark mist. With a swift movement back down, huge shadows appeared on the cliff face he stood above, a huge Heartless stepping its way out with a snarl. Groundshaker, a giant beast of a Heartless on four legs, a massive skull head with two enormous tusks on its jaw. Its back was covered in a thick moss, a small tree growing on its back where another Heartless rode the monster, an ape-like creature with two faces and an aura of magic. Though familiar to no one on the battlefield, it was one Toshiro would have recognized, even as this one held a different color pattern to the dull gray legs and head, this new one proudly bearing a blood red and electric yellow spikes.

"Whoa, that's huge!" Luffy gaped, as this beast was larger than even the Darksides he and his crew had been dealing with.

"Straw Hat!" Law's shout drew the Captain's attention to his ally as the other came to stand beside him. "I need to get up to Hitsugaya while conserving my stamina, and that thing might actually make a good stepping stone up top."

"No problem!" No questions asked, Luffy faced the giant, prepared to shoot an arm out to rocket them both onto its back, meanwhile the creature stomped its way forward with no regards for any below it.

Up above, Xehanort frowned and looked away from the upcoming struggle with Groundshaker, turning his gaze skyward. Something was coming… a streak crossed the sky, getting closer and closer… a ship.

"Interesting indeed." Xehanort sighed. At this point things were continually stacking against him, so he contemplated abandoning the Nobody and trying another time or continuing to fight. In a way he had trapped himself here by having Toshiro summon Kingdom Hearts, since if he stopped the boy now the heart would recover, and he'd be at risk of losing his influence over Toshiro. For now… he would observe. He was already losing time for his presence here; these pirates and Marines had fought back harder than he was expecting.

The ship came in range, a loud noise echoing across the skies moments before multiple laser shots slammed into the side of Groundshaker. With a cry of pain and surprise, the massive beast fell over onto its side, beginning to fade away into the darkness. Shots from a ship were too much even for it.

"Is that a space ship!?" Chopper's baffled question caught most everyone's attention if the shots hadn't already.

Turning to the sky, everyone saw a brightly colored ship soaring into the atmosphere, heading for the island with guns bared, though not firing anymore with the swarm too close and too small to avoid friendly fire.

Inside, the determined Keybearer Sora and his companions were ready to jump into what looked like an all-out war, furious when they saw Toshiro trapped in darkness at Xehanort's side.

"We found you, Toshiro!"

* * *

 **Survived through finals, now I get a month long break with only Christmas to worry about.**


	53. Reaching The Peak

"Are we too late?" Rangiku said, worry heavy in her tone as she saw her Captain shrouded in darkness, feeding it into Kingdom Hearts.

"Never!" Sora reassured, determined once more to free his friend.

"There's Aizen." Harribel pointed out the Soul Reaper fending off two powerful humans. "He looks like he's having trouble."

"With humans?" Yoruichi looked surprised. "Just what kind of world did our small boy find that two humans can put him against a wall?"

"One of them seems capable of turning into light." The shark Arrancar replied as she noticed Kizaru dart around the field before coming back in for an attack. "He can still kill them though. I will go."

"I'll go with you; I've got my own score to settle with him." Yoruichi patted her shoulder. Harribel only nodded, understanding. They had similar reasons for wanting to fight the powerful ex-Captain.

"We're close enough now you can jump down!" Donald reported to them, stalling the ship near the edge of the island in the air. It was high above the ground, but no problem for spirits. The door of the ship opened up, cold bitter air rushing inside with a roar. Ignoring the wind, Yoruichi and Harribel vanished from the ship with their respective quick movements. The cat-shifter arrived first, the fastest at Flash step and wasting no time throwing a punch.

Aizen noticed her approach, dodging just quick enough her fist created a crater in the ground rather than in his back.

"What's this? Something seems different about you, Aizen Sosuke." Yoruichi shot a cat-like sneer at the other soul, expecting the man to block the hit rather than dodge. Aizen scowled back, not his usual arrogant reaction, so the woman knew something had happened to give the near-immortal grief.

"Wow, now that was a punch." Shanks whistled, impressed. Her aura marked her as another soul, and by the bold way she approached Aizen she was strong, very strong. Another powerful being arrived as well… though this one felt more like the Hollow creatures of before despite her human appearance.

"It's time you paid for what you have done." Spirit Energy enshrouding the Arrancar, she held her sword – a wide blade hollowed out in the center – in front of her with the blade pointing down. " _Destroy, Tiburon!_ "

Water engulfed her figure briefly in a heart shaped cocoon before she quickly broke out, her blade now engulfing her arm like a giant canon as she charged at Aizen, more of her body exposed with the trademark Hollow hole on her lower abdomen mostly hidden by her bony skirt.

"Excuse us for a moment gentleman, but this one is our responsibility." Yoruichi had time to say to the Marine Admiral and Pirate Emperor nearby before focusing back on her enemy. " _Shunko!_ " A powerful blast of aura flowed around her arms and back, giving the reason why she wore a black top with so much of her back exposed. This new power she possessed made her even faster, stronger, and with both at full power Aizen knew he was in trouble. As far as they knew he still had the Hogyoku, so they would come at him full force. Even if they did know, it would only make them hit harder, bring up their confidence. He would never consider this under normal circumstances, but a retreat might be necessary.

Shanks and Kizaru backed off for a moment as the two women engaged in battle with Aizen, allowing the men to breathe while the fully rested spirits tackled a tiring Aizen. The air was thick with Spiritual Pressure, and Harribel's water based aura was actually causing a little more difficulty for Kizaru than Aizen's alone had. They even had to back up further as she surrounded the three fighting in blasts of boiling water, the snow around them melting away.

"Whoo, not sure where they came from, but they seem to know how to fight him better." Kizaru mused aloud.

"I'm going to guess they come from the same place as the little guardian." Shanks spoke up. Kizaru turned to him with a glare, having forgotten for a moment that the person he'd been fighting alongside was a Pirate Emperor.

They pondered jumping back into the fight, but before they could decide that, a hole tore open in the sky, a pitch black swirl of darkness.

"Don't you dare escape!" Harribel fumed, leaping forward to prevent the Soul Reaper vanishing into the dark portal, a power he seemed to briefly possess while allied with Xehanort.

"There are mistakes I must correct before I deal with you." Aizen responded with a scowl, retreating into the mass of darkness, the portal fading away before the Arrancar could jump in after him.

"Damn him!" She cursed, furious. Once again her revenge had been pulled away from her.

"Why would he retreat?" Yoruichi wondered aloud, finding their enemy's behavior odd.

"Might have something to do with that weird orb Trafalgar pulled out of him and destroyed." Kizaru spoke up. Though he wasn't sure of the significance of it still, too busy fighting to be briefed about it, he was more and more curious about it as the two women looked his way in absolute shock.

"He… doesn't have the Hogyoku anymore?" Yoruichi's amazement came through in her voice, immediately wanting to know who this Trafalgar was and how he did the impossible.

Back up in the ship, the others charged into the field, those with Flash Step helping those without it down, the ship returning above the atmosphere on auto-pilot to sit idle and wait.

"Is that Xigbar and Saix?" Demyx pointed out the pair of former Nobodies battling with various pirates on the field.

"We'll deal with them." Riku spoke up before Sora could dart away, Demyx following the silver-haired teen as they went for the enemy pair. "Sora, you and the others get to Toshiro!"

"But-" Sora was about to argue but was ignored, not okay letting his friend take on the burden of fighting Braig and Isa alone, unaware of the strength of the pirates around him, two of which were hurrying over to them.

"They'll be fine, let's get to the Captain." Rangiku put a reassuring hand on the younger male's shoulder, a determined expression on her face.

"Yeah, you're the only one who got the collar off last time, we have to get at least you up there." Donald agreed, the two pirates close now and listening curiously.

"I don't know if I can do Anti right now though…" Sora trailed off in his argument as he spotted the pair. A young looking figure in a straw hat and a tall menacing one in a spotted hat.

"I'm going to guess you're Sora?" Law questioned the brunette, recognizing the Keyblade in Sora's hands. It was Frozen Heavens, a copy of Toshiro's, gifted by a special keychain. The boy had used the keychain as a sort of way-finder to make sure Toshiro was indeed here.

"Yeah, that's me."

"We don't have time for much, but if you're making your way to Hitsugaya, I'm going with you."

"And why's that?" Rangiku asked defensively, not about to let anyone near her Captain that might cause him further harm.

"She really does look like Nami." Luffy tried in vain to whisper to Law, the surgeon shooing him, the information unimportant even though the others looked confused.

"I can cure him." Law answered plain and simple, keeping to his statement about not having much time.

"Oh, the power Toshiro mentioned in his message!" Sora beamed, the hopeful look on his face almost too pure for someone that managed to get past Toshiro's icy barriers. "That's you!"

"We thought we might be running into trouble, so he sent one as fast as he could." Law said with a nod. "I don't know what any of you can do, but if it helps us get up there I can do the rest. And I heard you can get the collar off?"

"Well, maybe… it's kind of tricky…"

"It's a risk we'll have to take if we want to stop that." The doctor pointed up to the darkening Kingdom Hearts with his sword.

"Got it, I'll do what I can!" Never one to back down from helping a friend, Sora agreed to help.

"I'll keep Xehanort busy while you two help my Captain." Rangiku promised the Keybearer.

"Me too, I still need to kick his ass!" Luffy was fired up again, running off back to the cliff to find another way to get up since Groundshaker was taken out by the Gummi ship.

"Hey, wait up!" Sora chased after the high energy pirate, Donald and Goofy not far behind him. Rangiku and Law exchanged a glance before following as well.

Zoro fended off a blow from Isa before jumping back a bit just as someone else joined the fray. The odd weapon the teen used had to be a Keyblade, the dark red and blue bat wing with the teeth a curled white angel wing, an eye resting at the base only made sense if it was one. The swordsman didn't recognize this kid though, taking a moment to think if Toshiro ever mentioned him.

"If it isn't Ansem's vessel." Isa growled at the newcomer, as he did recognize the young man.

"Not anymore, it's just Riku." The teen snapped back.

"I didn't really need any help." Zoro cut into their hostile 'reunion' with a calm tone, a sword still in each hand.

"I'm just making sure he can't run off to stop my friends." Riku responded just as calmly, not put off by the swordsman basically telling him to move along.

Zoro smirked a bit, understanding the teen's motivation.

"Alright then, just don't get in my way."

"No problem."

Demyx's rush in to go up against Braig wasn't quite as smooth, but the entire fight going on between General Franky – piloted by Franky with support from Usopp – and the thundercloud Zeus – Nami was using her weather to hold off the swarm – was far from smooth to begin with. Between the insanity that was the giant mech, the ground cover nuisance of aggressive plants, and the air control attacks by Zeus, Braig was using more stamina just keeping out of the line of fire than actually putting up a fight. He had tried escaping multiple times, but even twisting gravity and throwing magic at them didn't stop their relentless pursuit.

So Braig was understandably on a hair trigger anger wise when Demyx suddenly barged in looking ready to throw out some kind of cool one liner.

"Oh FUCK THIS!" Deciding he'd rather deal with Xehanort's lecture later than the nonsense going on right now, Braig straight up warped himself off the island, and potentially off the world entirely. The sniper had figured they were losing anyway once the Gummi ship arrived and his boss would call for a retreat anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to do so a little earlier.

"Uh…" Demyx's charisma fell flat at the retreat, a little disappointed he didn't get to participate and test his new training. He turned toward the robot instead, Zeus making a motion as if he was shrugging before floating off back to Nami. "Wow, that looks awesome."

"Thanks!" Franky popped his head out with a proud grin. "So… who are you?"

As these groups got acquainted through battle, Sora and his companions found themselves at the base of the cliff with the two pirate Captains, a couple of Darksides standing in their way. There was hardly any intimidation among them, just a determined need to get to the top. Only one goal was on their mind, and however they got there, whatever stood in their way, mattered little as long as they reached that goal.

"So how are you able to fix him?" Sora asked of Law while Luffy stood up front, cracking his knuckles with a grin, fully prepared to punch out some giant Heartless.

"The simplest way to explain it is I'm a surgeon." Law responded. "The bigger problem is I need Hyorinmaru close enough for the procedure."

"S-surgery? In battle?" The Keybearer didn't look so sure about this now.

Instead of explaining further, Law turned to the sky and gave a loud whistle. Following his gaze, they realized where Toshiro's dragon had gone. Unable to harm the beast, Dextra had taken to leading him on a chase, lashing at him when she could but otherwise keeping away from those deadly jaws and icy breath. His tail had almost swiped her a few times as well, but her speed just outmatched his to keep her from harm, and her agility let her get behind him which forced him to slow down to turn. When she heard the whistle, her attention quickly shifted, taking a dive back down to the field below towards the one who had summoned her. Snarling, Hyorinmaru followed.

"She'll bring him in, let's get up top to meet her."

"I'll pick on these guys!" Luffy stuck his thumb in his mouth before blowing hard. The others' confusion switched quickly to shock as his arm rapidly ballooned into a much larger size. " _Gear Third!_ "

"He got huge!" Sora exclaimed, baffled, Donald and Goofy beside him gaping.

The enormous fist slammed into one of the Darksides, sending it flying into the cliff side and breaking down a chunk of the rocky wall. The Heartless didn't perish immediately, but it was definitely stunned.

"Straw Hat, use that to boost us up!" Law shouted over to the rubber man.

"Got it!" Sending the other Darkside flying with a backhand, Luffy breathed in, the inflated portion of his arm suddenly shifting over to his torso, making him look like a balloon with tiny limbs.

"That's weird but okay." Sora's comment was rushed as he hurried to follow after Law, realizing they were going to use the oddly bouncy man as a sort of trampoline. "Donald, Goofy, let's use that form. If I don't go Anti I can at least use it to get close to Xehanort with Rangiku."

"Okay!" The pair of animals saluted.

Curious about these forms Sora kept talking about, Law spared a quick glance back, noticing the other's two companions flash into light and absorb into Sora. And he thought Luffy turning into a balloon was weird? Where did they go? In response to the pair vanishing, Sora's clothing changed color, transitioning into a brilliant silver and black. Frozen Heavens had become a stunning white Keyblade, Oathkeeper, along with a second Keyblade, the polar opposite black weapon, Oblivion. They floated around Sora's form along with a strong magical aura. Rangiku had no reaction, but Law had a great many questions about this human he didn't have time to ask, turning to focus back on the bigger problem. Sora was clearly more familiar with the magical weapons, capable of wielding two and utilizing their magic while Toshiro preferred his powers centered from his Soul Reaper abilities.

Once the now trio bounced off of Luffy, the straw hat wearer returned the air to his arms and went back to keeping the Darksides from crawling up after them, a few looking up as if wanting to do so. The inflatable ability had startled Xehanort somewhat, not expecting such a move to match against the giant Heartless, putting a tiny melee fighter above the strength of the massive creatures. Surprising as it was, he had more pressing matters to deal with.

"Toshiro!" Sora called out for his friend as they approached the top, worry in his expression at the Ice Nobody's blank expression.

"He can't hear you." Law responded, scowling slightly as he noticed Xehanort return the dark Keyblade to his hand. " _Room!_ " The sphere returned.

"Of course he can!" Sora argued, wisps forming around his feet as he shot up the rest of the way to the top with a burst of wind. Rangiku followed suit with Flash Step after briefly touching her feet to the wall. Law was about to use his power to switch up with them, but found wind pushing him up as well, a helpful boost from Sora. "Toshiro, we came to get you!"

"And it may well be your last move." Xehanort struck out, his Keyblade clashing against Oathkeeper as Sora reached the peak.

" _Growl, Haineko!_ " Rangiku's shout held anger as her blade became ash, swirling through the air with the hiss of an angry feline. The cloud converged on Xehanort, the old Master scowling and backing off at this annoying new power.

With the enemy distracted, Law approached Toshiro, stopping short of the swirl of darkness surrounding Toshiro's position. Past experience warned him not to jump into that, but he needed to get close to do the procedure. A sharp cry of an eagle let him know Dextra was close by, a deafening roar covering up her warning to show Hyorinmaru was not far behind her. They had to think quickly on how to get rid of the darkness long enough he could merge the two souls back.

"Toshiro!" Sora flashed over as well, his form allowing him to basically hover above the ground. He reached a hand out towards the dark field, reeling back when it lashed out at him.

"I need to get past this to use my ability." Law warned the younger man, looking away briefly to see where Dextra was with Hyorinmaru. She had noticed it was too soon, arcing back up briefly to circle around the peak while avoiding getting eaten.

"I know how." With a determined air, Sora made a motion with his hands, the two Keyblades spinning around him in response. "We'll get you back Toshiro, just you wait!"

Though the other was still surrounded by a raging wellspring of darkness, Law thought he saw Toshiro lift a hand up in answer, seeming to reach out for the help being offered to him. Perhaps he was listening. Perhaps now that hope had returned, he found the will to fight, trying to meet them halfway. He wanted to escape. He was depending on them.

"Dextra!" Law called for his daughter, the eagle child responding immediately and diving down to his side, into the huge Room meant to hold even the massive size of the dragon Heartless.

Seeing what was about to happen, Xehanort gave a huff, not bothering to get past the cloud of ash and turning away instead. Rangiku watched in surprise as the old man seemed to just fade from existence. Had he been an illusion the whole time? Why give up so easily? It wasn't the victory they hoped for, but at the least they had won this fight, even if there might be more to come.

The only problem now was the swarm of Heartless still fighting for the hearts of the living and the bright light of Kingdom Hearts. The only way to stop that… was to bring the light back. And that depended entirely on Sora and Law.

The Keybearer raised his hand above his head, the two Keyblades rising above him and spinning around one another, shining brightly with gathered light.

"Let him go!" He shouted to the writhing darkness, thrusting his hand down in front of him. The Keyblades followed, spinning forward like a bullet and releasing a beam of light at the dark barrier.

Light flashed through the air on impact, the ground shaking as the darkness clashed with its opposite, twisting and thrashing in panic. Toshiro brought his hands to his head, reacting as if in pain, no doubt feeling as such with the darkness drawing from his own power. But it was necessary… they had to release him from its hold, and removing any parasite caused its fair share of suffering.

While the darkness began to wilt under the light of Sora's power, Law turned to the approaching dragon. Dextra stood obediently at his side, feathers ruffled as the dragon landed roughly on the remaining space of the peak, his tail hanging down the edge since he was too big to properly fit. This lack of balance is the only thing that kept him from attacking immediately, letting off an angry roar at the people below. With the wings still flared out to maintain balance, Law had the opening he needed. He rushed the dragon, dodging around the snapping jaws and reaching the beast's chest.

" _Ziel Mes!_ " With a movement just like the normal Mes, Law reached for the heart of Hyorinmaru. However, this technique utilized different equipment. Rather than a physical touch, this 'soul knife' did what his normal ability could not. It captured and contained the brilliant heart of a Heartless without it escaping.

He just hoped it worked.

Hyorinmaru let out a deafening roar as light burst from within his body, flowing over him like a thin film. He thrashed, trying to get it off, but it came from within him, impossible to escape. The dragon tried to take flight but found himself grounded, unable to move from Law's touch until the spell ran its course. The film completely encased the body of black ice and began to shrink inwards, forcing the form to shift around the vulnerable heart. Maintaining the 'body' conserved the 'heart'.

Finally, Hyorinmaru's form dispersed, and all Law held was a bright floating heart encased in a box, just like Mes usually did, but this box twisted with darkness, holding it in place around its core. The extraction was successful.

"I got it!" Sora shouted, his Keyblades returning to his side as the darkness was finally dispersed, no longer imprisoning Toshiro. The Nobody fell to his knees, his body shaking and confused, the darkness twisting weakly at his feet in an attempt to return. "Hurry!"

Law didn't need further prompting, hurrying back over to Toshiro with the large cube in hand. This really did take a lot of stamina, as removing Hyorinmaru's heart alone had taken a large toll already, the amount of power in the Heartless sapping at his own as he was forced to match it to overcome the dragon. He had been right to conserve his strength.

" _Spirit Restoration! "_ Law doubted he would ever need such a technique again, but it was all he had to return a broken spirit to its full power. The cube in his hands flashed with light as he thrust it towards Toshiro's form.

As the heart came into contact with its other half, the island was suddenly bathed in a brilliant light, forcing everyone to a halt.

Silence fell over everything.


	54. I Am Whole Again

Overwhelming darkness. A permanent oblivion surrounding him, embracing him in blissful ignorance. There was no pain here, no suffering. He had no reason to be concerned or despaired. Finally, a peaceful rest.

Yet he WAS restless. This persistent drowsiness didn't feel as comforting as he would have thought. It was more like a figurative drain had opened somewhere in his mind, and through it he was losing energy. This was not a comforting rest, but an exhausting pull. It was uncomfortable enough to keep him from falling fully into the oblivion, displeased with this leech on his power. He was promised sleep, an eternal peace from his nightmares, but something was still pestering him even here.

Something else called for his attention. It felt like a voice… was someone trying to get his attention? A bell-like tone echoed through the darkness, a wisp of light passing by him. Intrigued, he watched it float by before it vanished. What was that about?

 _Return to sleep…_

The whispers in the darkness beckoned him away from the mysterious call. That's right… he didn't want to go, he wanted rest.

The bell sounded again, the wisp of light stronger as it curled around his form this time. Curious he looked at his hand, watching the light curl around it fondly, a friendly touch that felt warm, familiar. He knew this presence… right? It felt so familiar. A few more wisps came behind it, bearing different colors as they curled around his arms in a warm embrace. They felt familiar, so familiar. Some were quieter than the others, a bit dull and distant, but friendly all the same. They brought with them whispers, unintelligible in their soft wispy form, but bringing out his curiosity. Who were these lights trying to get his attention? The darkness whispered louder, trying to snuff out the lights.

 _You do not need them, rest in peace, they will only return you to suffering._

"But they're warm." He argued back, holding his arms and the wisps curling around them closer to his body as if to protect them.

 _You do not need them._

"I want them."

' _Toshiro!_ ' The brightest of the lights curled up around his head, its whispers louder than the others. A light pink one followed closely, bringing with it the warmth of a motherly figure.

"You sound familiar…" He mused aloud, observing the bright light vying loudly for his attention.

' _Toshiro, we came to get you!_ '

 _Don't listen!_

He ignored the hiss from within the darkness, trying to figure out who this familiar wisp was. They sounded so desperate, reaching out for him, and he wanted to understand why. Everything outside was suffering… but this presence was changing that perception, bringing forth a light that he wanted to be a part of.

 _The light is temporary, you will only continue to suffer in it, but oblivion is forever._

"But they know me." Of that he was sure; these wisps were people he knew, people he wanted to get back to. He didn't have to be alone.

 _You will always be alone._

"I won't believe that anymore."

The wisps flared brighter, beginning to bring light into the void, the darkness hissing angrily.

' _Toshiro!_ '

"…Sora?" As the light seeped into the darkness pervading his mind, Toshiro finally recognized the voice within the wisp. These warm lights were the people he had made friends with, people close to him, dear to him. The wisps formed shapes, revealing the souls they belonged to, their familiar Spirit Energy calling out to him. Sora was closest with Donald and Goofy at his side, Rangiku, Law and Dextra just behind him, and behind them, dim but there, all those he had met and learned to trust, who had been there for him. The pirates, fighting, giving it their all. They had not perished under his power, and they showed no blame towards him, no hatred or ill will, just the desire to save a friend. Sora's friend Riku, the Water Nobody Demyx, and even Yoruichi, they had come to the world to help him.

' _We'll get you back Toshiro, just you wait!_ ' Sora's determined voice echoed through the air, even if the figure of Sora did not move their lips, simply reaching a hand out instead. A gesture of hope, a lifeline to escape the darkness.

Needing no further prompting, Toshiro reached for the hand, pushing himself forward towards those in the light.

His hand was sharply pulled back, his movement halted as tendrils of darkness clung to his body painfully, pulling him back into the void.

 _You cannot return to the light._

"I'm returning to my friends!" Toshiro struggled against the bindings, panic crossing his face as the wisps began to fade, going away from his reach. "I don't care about light or darkness, but I refuse to be controlled anymore!"

 _You seemed willing to accept it moments ago._

"I gave up too easily!" He shook his head viciously to get the voice out of his head. "I lost track of what was important and thought I had lost. But it's not lost yet! I have them, and as long as I do I refuse to back down again!"

 _You will suffer_!

"I'll accept that if it means I get to know what it's like to belong somewhere!" Tears stung at his eyes as he continued to struggle away. "And I did get to know what that was! I finally understand it! And I'm not letting it go!"

Light flooded his vision, stripping away the darkness clinging tightly to his form. Finally free, he hurried back to his feet and ran forward, away from the darkness, away from his nightmares and fears. He was moving on.

A roar echoed around him and a familiar cold embrace brought him comfort.

In the silence outside on the island, the light retreated back inwards, gathering at a point around where Toshiro had stood. Sora and Law found their footing again, having been pushed away nearly off the edge, the former's Drive form dispersing and bringing back his two animal companions, who joined the others in gaping at the sphere of light before them. Rangiku hurried over to Sora's side to make sure he was fine before watching the light with a wary eye, wondering what had become of her Captain. Those on the ground took a glance around to notice the majority of the Heartless swarm was completely gone, washed away by the light, a menace no longer. Only the giants remained, turning to the light with hungry gazes. In the confusion and shock going around, the last remaining enemy, Isa, vanished into a dark portal to follow his master. He had continued to fight until the end, but it was clear even to him now there was no point wasting any more effort.

The sphere suddenly released its light again in a loud burst, straight up into the sky, striking Kingdom Hearts. Just as the beam of darkness had done before, the light washed over it, this time cleansing it of the eerie black tendrils trying to suffocate its light. Kingdom Hearts was restored, a brilliant azure once more. The dread that had been forming in their guts went away, peace taking its place at the knowledge that the true light was no longer in danger.

The first movement below was from the Heartless, the huge Darksides seeking to devour the heart above them, to absorb its light and snuff it out. They sought its salvation while bringing with them only destruction.

In response, the sphere of light moved upwards above the peak, enlarging in the air. From it emitted a brilliant cold, but it was not a cold that brought on death and despair. Instead, it was a comforting chill, a feeling of ease and restored energy, a brief shock to sharpen their senses and keep them going.

"This is quite something…" Kizaru couldn't help the awe in his tone as he watched something amazing appear from the sphere of light with the others on the island.

The once menacing black dragon had been cleansed of all darkness, returning to a sleek form of a shining blue, the long icy body practically glowing on its own in the light of Kingdom Hearts, curled around itself like a snake across the peak. The wings that spread shined brightly, appearing to be carved with care and delicacy but strong enough to create a storm with a single swipe. Once golden eyes had become a royal crimson, the hostility of instinct replaced with an endless wisdom that demanded respect. Though normally Hyorinmaru bore no limbs other than his wings, this pure awakened form gifted him two forelegs capable of grabbing the Darksides with ease.

This was a true guardian dragon.

Lifting his majestic head upward, Hyorinmaru let off a powerful roar. Unlike the beastly roar he held as a Heartless, this one echoed through the air with power. As he roared, light flowed from his body over the island, overwhelming the giant Heartless trying to pitifully crawl their way up to him. With this final burst, the remaining Heartless were destroyed, the hearts floating upwards to absorb into the soft light of Kingdom Hearts.

"Wow, the real Hyorinmaru is AWESOME!" Chopper exclaimed loudly, craning his neck as much as he could to see the enormous form of the ice spirit.

"Such a difference from the dark form… so this is what those two are really like." Nami breathed in wonder.

Still on the peak, Sora and the others looked around them at the huge icy coils surrounding them, the ice practically a mirror with its shine. There was no threat from the dragon though. If anything, his presence was a barrier, protecting them from any possible outside harm, though now there was none with the Heartless gone.

Rangiku's focus was on the small light still shining in their company, in place of where Toshiro had been. The Spirit Energy still felt like him… in fact… it felt whole again. Hope rose within her as she stepped closer, waiting for the light to disperse. Law chose to wait at a distance, keeping a hand on Dextra as the harpy eagle shook out of the stupor the light had put her in, returning to her child form. She clung close to her Papa, confused and somewhat frightened, though she had a feeling they had won.

"Toshiro, that you?" Sora went to stand next to Rangiku, eagerly waiting for the return of his friend, Donald and Goofy still gaping upwards at Hyorinmaru, the dragon turning his crimson gaze down to them as he, too, observed the light.

As if in response, the light finally began to fade away. Similar to Hyorinmaru's appearance from the light, wings of bright blue ice spread first, dispersing the last of the light.

"Whoa…"

Sora's amazement was shared by those around him. Toshiro was in his Bankai form, but it had changed somewhat. He still bore wings matching his dragon, icy talons covering his hands and feet, and a long icy tail, but now he also wore some kind of armor, white and blue in color that covered his chest and shoulders, a black material like a suit covering the rest not hidden by ice. A white haori rested over the armor made of similar material. A helmet covered his face, shaped into a dragon with icy horns at the top. Around his neck they could see a pendant with a snowflake, the ice a bright, brilliant blue, just like the rest of his ice, no longer dull.

"Captain?" Rangiku, while confident this was her Captain returned, suddenly worried he still wasn't quite in control yet. As far as she remembered, they had not removed the collar, unaware of the purpose of the pendant.

The armored figure reached up towards the helmet, fumbling with it for a bit as if not sure how to get it off, before succeeding and removing the dragon head.

"This is weird…" Toshiro commented quietly, looking at the helmet in his hands. His teal eyes were clear of any control or illusion, fully himself, and his hair was a pristine snowy white, not a hint of black at their ends. He was whole again. Not only that, but somewhere in his awakening he had shed the dreaded collar, freeing himself from its mental control.

"Toshiro!" With no further hesitation, Sora leapt at the Soul Reaper and locked him in a tight hug. Ecstatic, Donald and Goofy weren't too far behind, knocking the poor spirit to the ground in a dog pile, the helmet dropping to the ground before flashing away into light, not currently needed.

"Let me up!" Toshiro complained, though inwardly he was glad to see these three again.

"We're so glad you're back!" Sora ignored the growl, simply happy to have his friend back from the darkness.

"Captain~!" Rangiku rescued him from the dog pile only to hug him tightly against herself, or at least as well as she could with the wings in the way.

"Breathing… is nice…" Toshiro wheezed.

She released him and he took a moment to get his breath back, taking his chance to finally take in what had happened, his friends waiting eagerly but willing to give him space. Putting a hand to his chest he found a steady heartbeat thumping against it, a welcome feeling to the emptiness he had started to become used to. With its return was a rush of emotions he had a hard time keeping control of, but an absolute blessing all the same, something he never wanted to lose again. Best of all… Hyorinmaru's comforting presence returned to his mind, even as the dragon himself held a physical form around them, a gentle rumble to help calm his nerves. He had missed that feeling, the comfort of a partner always by one's side, keeping away the nightmares. There was no more nagging darkness, no more dark pull, no more foreboding emptiness. He was well and truly complete again.

With a deep breath, he collected his thoughts and turned to look at the excited faces gathered around him.

"I… I'm glad you guys came… for a moment there, I wasn't sure I'd come back from that." He told them honestly, a smile crossing his face.

"Of course we'd come for you, we only wish you'd have called out sooner." Rangiku chastised him. "I've been worried sick, and Momo has some words for you when we get back."

Toshiro flinched, a bit concerned now at causing his adopted sister to stress herself too much worrying about him.

"This is awesome, everyone will be so happy to see you!" Sora bounced up and down a bit, barely containing his excitement. He paused for a moment, remembering something, pivoting around to look at the two pirates standing quietly off to the side. Law had been content to do so a bit longer, having to lean on his sword while he recovered his stamina. "Thank you so much for your help healing him."

"It was the least I could do, I don't really like the idea of the planet I live on getting devoured by darkness." Law waved off the gratitude, not one to accept thanks since he refused to play a hero's role.

"You already look a lot different… in a good way." Dextra piped up from her Papa's side. "Is that the Bankai you were telling us about?"

"Yes, though I've never had armor in it before." Toshiro responded, looking over himself again at the pristine garments.

' ** _It would seem it came about as we awakened in the presence of Kingdom Hearts._** ' Hyorinmaru offered, leaning his head down towards them, his new legs folding up under him like a cat. ' ** _There is much to learn about these new powers, and in time our memories will follow even as we make new ones._** '

"Hyorinmaru, you look so cool!" Sora beamed up at the dragon.

Giving a loud rumble that must have been meant as a purr, the dragon nodded his head to the Keybearer, appreciating the admiration.

Some shouting from below caught their attention, no doubt the other two pirate crews wanting to know what was going on. The loudest was of course Luffy, shouting the nickname he used for Law and causing the surgeon to scowl.

"I suppose we should let everyone know that we didn't get eaten." He grumbled.

"And that you're back to normal." Sora put a friendly arm over Toshiro's shoulders before quickly pulling it back, having brushed against the icy wings still present. "That's really cold…"

Toshiro couldn't help a short laugh at the Keybearer's expense.

"I suppose staying in Bankai at this point is a bit unnecessary." He agreed.

The icy coils around them began to shift as Hyorinmaru spread his wings once more, lifting himself up into the sky, a winged snake gliding through the air with grace. Light flowed over his form before he himself seemed to turn into that light, the physical form dispersing into icy wisps that swirled back down over their master. He held his hand up towards them, the ice and armor on his own body fading into light and joining the gathering wisps converging into his waiting hand. It continued to shrink, creating a familiar shape, and as the light finally faded the bladed form of Hyorinmaru was once more a physical creation resting in Toshiro's hand. With practiced ease he turned it and placed it at his back where a sheath formed around it and created a chain around his torso to hold it in place. His clothing had changed as well, a more familiar black Shihakusho with the haori remaining, a pure white with a dragon symbol at its back rather than the number for his squad as he was used to, a small piece of armor remaining over his left shoulder.

"Back to your usual self already." Rangiku praised with a kind smile. Toshiro returned it, glad to be back.

The brief happiness was quickly shattered.

"The brighter you make your light, the harsher people around you will suffer."

They turned around sharply towards the voice, weapons prepared. It was the younger vision of Xehanort again, a smug expression on his face despite his older counterpart failing.

"You keep changing your mind on whether or not it's me suffering or those around me, whichever suits you best." Toshiro shot back coldly.

"Only because your priorities change, and as they do, so do your fears." Xehanort responded smoothly. "And darkness loves to prey on those fears. It will be drawn to you. Just as the Heartless seek out those chosen by the Keyblade, you, as the key to Kingdom Hearts itself, will bring with you the worst kinds of shadows seeking out your light."

"We'll take that challenge." Sora stepped forward, a bold expression of absolute determination. "You'll never get Kingdom Hearts; we'll stop you every time!"

"In the meantime, what manner of destruction will you bring with you?" The vision flickered as he motioned to Dextra and Law. "How much have they suffered needlessly for you?"

"You don't get to talk about that!" Dextra shouted, only prevented from leaping forward to slash at the illusion by Law's arm latching onto her.

"I'm only reminding him to be more careful of his actions." Xehanort chuckled, amused by her anger, returning his attention back to Toshiro, the guardian glaring daggers at him. "If you wish to stop me, then we will meet again in the sleeping realms."

"Sleeping realms?" Sora questioned, but was given no answer as the enemy's image flickered away. "Hey!"

"There's no point worrying about it, Sora, we'll deal with him when the time comes." Toshiro caught the brunette's attention. "We've ruined every plan of his so far, all we have to do is stay strong."

"Yeah…" Sora frowned at where Xehanort had disappeared before turning back to his companions. "So, back down then?"

"Might as well, looks like things have calmed down." Rangiku answered as she watched everyone gather below.

Law turned his gaze to the remaining Marines gathered behind Kizaru as the Admiral himself approached.

"Wouldn't be too sure about calm…" He muttered to himself.

Below, watching the tall man approach, Yoruichi had a similar unsettled feeling. The light user looked like a man on a mission, and his mission didn't agree with theirs. One could never be too careful, and without knowing what they were planning, she needed a backup plan. Kizaru was able to fight almost level with Aizen, so if he decided to start a fight, she needed to make sure they could overwhelm him and keep him away.

"Demyx." She spoke quietly, beckoning the Nobody over. "I need you to go get some people for me."

Though confused, Demyx nodded, understanding from her tone she was being serious. If she saw need to get reinforcements, he would follow orders.

"Still here, Straw Hat?" Sentomaru stepped forward with a sneer at the rubber man.

"I'm waiting for my friends, of course I'm still here." Luffy shot back, frowning. Why else would he stick around?

"You're a very wanted man, I would think you didn't want to hang around with Marines here."

"We leave no one behind, and we will protect our friends from you." Robin stood her ground as well, daring the soldiers to strike first. All of the straw Hats stood firm across from the Marines, their allies just behind them waiting on their Captain and Dextra.

"Normally I'd be happy to bring all of your heads back with me, but I have very strict orders to capture that little guardian of yours and bring him for our great leaders." Kizaru spoke up this time, his aura letting off a very clear threat. "So we really don't have time for your games."

The pirates all bristled, but paused from snapping back when Yoruichi stepped between them, standing proud against the much taller Admiral.

"I'm afraid I'll have to fight with them then. Hitsugaya Toshiro doesn't belong to you, and I'M here to bring him back home." Her tone was firm, a smirk on her face. She had no problems picking fights with authorities, and she rather respected the pirates behind her for defending Toshiro so strongly. Harribel stood next to the were-cat, still in her Resurrección form with a heavy pressure in the air containing the aura of water. Of the two women, she might have been the bigger threat due to her power being the one weakness of the Devil Fruit users, even if she wasn't aware of such things.

"I'm not too eager to have those old men in charge trying to control a power like that either." Turning around, the Marines spotted Shanks and his crew standing firmly behind them, blocking them in between two pirate forces. It was not a good situation for the Marines, but Kizaru didn't seem too bothered, almost as if expecting this resistance.

This was the tension that Toshiro and the others returned to when they reached ground level, all of them on alert for a potential fight breaking out.

Not the best of scenarios to end on.

* * *

 **Edit: So, uh, I realized when I posted this one first that I actually forgot to post the previous chapter...explains why everything was so quiet... so in case you read this before I fixed it, i'm just going to go ahead and post it along with the previous one, since this was supposed to be today's anyway and i'm just dumb. Very sorry for that, hopefully it didn't ruin the experience for too many of you.**

 **I am now caught up with chapters, which means they will now be posted when I finish them rather than on a schedule. I'm about halfway through the next one at least, so hopefully that'll be up soon too, but now I have nothing premade, so everyone is reading as I finish rather than a month or two behind. Fingers crossed I don't hit a wall like the last one lol, but I've actually got a plan for where this is going, I just have to write it when I find time. Next chapter to come, happy holidays.**


	55. The Marines Are Stubborn

Once Sora and the others made it down, Riku hurried over to his friend.

"Probably best to keep back with this one, looks like the big guy in yellow wants to arrest Toshiro." He briefed them.

"Arrest me?" Toshiro blinked, confused. Sure he had a bounty now, but why specifically him when there were plenty of other pirates with way bigger bounties around? When did the Marines even get here? He had been unconscious before the main force showed up and only knew Coby and Tebliel had been present before he had been collared.

"They showed up demanding to take you to the World Government to become their little guardian puppet before Xehanort made you summon Kingdom Hearts, apparently Maleficent had told them something to make them interested." Law explained quickly. "With Xehanort and Aizen gone, Kizaru must be trying to get back to that mission."

"As if I'd go back to being anyone's puppet." Toshiro scowled, glaring at the Admiral.

"There's no way I would ever let that happen." Rangiku looked ready to start a fight right then, reaching back for Haineko.

"Miss Yoruichi is already talking to them, and she sent Demyx off somewhere, I think we'll be okay." Riku reassured them.

"Then you don't know the Marines." Law grumbled, stepping forward towards the crowd with Dextra close behind him, joining his crew while watching Kizaru warily.

Cautious, the others all joined back up as well, Rangiku, Sora and Toshiro stepping up next to Yoruichi. The purple-haired woman took the opportunity to put a hand on the small figure's head and ruffle his snowy hair.

"This one is first and foremost a Soul Reaper, and a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." Yoruichi spoke, still a mischievous gleam in her eyes even as Toshiro glared up at her and shoved her hand off his head. "We can give you a formal apology for any piracy he's managed to do, which for this goody-two-shoes I doubt was much, but by no means can I allow you to take him."

"Not that I would go, I'm tired of people trying to control me." Toshiro put his word in. "Besides, I made sure your government had what it needed to fight back against the Heartless and the information to stay ahead of them. You even have a Keybearer now." He motioned to Coby, the pink-haired Captain tending to a sleepy looking Tebliel back to her normal self.

"So do they." Smoker glanced over at Shanks, the Emperor watching quietly from the back, calm yet alert.

"Neither one was by choice."

"Wait, they have Keyblades?" Sora turned to his friend. "How'd they get them?"

"I'll explain later…"

"Whatever world he's from, he's made himself a threat here, and we have a right to deal with that." Kizaru cut in, tone a little more forceful now as he kept his gaze on Yoruichi since she put herself in front as the spokesperson.

"He has some things to answer for with us first." The woman responded, not flinching at all. Toshiro tensed slightly, not sure if she said that to convince the Marine or if he would actually have to deal with a trial at the Soul Society.

"If he's a criminal for your world as well, why defend him?"

"Because he's OUR criminal."

Kizaru frowned, not expecting the snarky comeback. Besides melee fighting and speed, Yoruichi was best at word play, and she wasn't about to let someone intimidate her just because they were almost twice her height.

"It seems things are at a stalemate; perhaps we can break it." The voice came from the side, an aged voice that caught attention quickly.

Turning to look, they found the owner of the voice was an old man in blue robes, a very wizard-like appearance. Yen Sid, one of the Masters and definitely a powerful figure, even Kizaru could tell that much. Next to him was another aged male, this one bald but with a much longer beard, dressed in similar attire to Rangiku except with the white Captain's haori over his shoulders. The chill over the island warmed up several degrees with his arrival. They not only had a presence of importance, but of strength, holding a power to back up their rank. Just behind them were two other Captains of the Soul Society – a brunette man with a pink flowery robe over top of his own and a white haired man of somewhat sickly pallor – as well as Demyx returned along with a tall man of spiky red hair and green eyes, the black cloak similar to what Toshiro had worn on his arrival here.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro." Yamamoto spoke up next, disappointment in his tone as he focused his attention on his subordinate.

"Yes, Head Captain?" Toshiro's response was one of reflex and obedience, making the pirates look between the two Reapers oddly. Robin's eyes lit up in realization; so this was why Toshiro had such a hard time with the idea of betraying the Soul Society in any shape or form. No doubt this aged Reaper was the one in charge, or at least the commanding officer, similar to the Admirals or even the Fleet Admiral, and he made it very clear he was to be respected and obeyed. Not to mention the pressure in the air… the snow beneath their feet was a little wetter than before, an overbearing heat spreading over the island. It was Toshiro's opposite, and much stronger than him, it only made sense now why Toshiro couldn't fathom taking a stand against such a power.

"You have proven yourself good at running away and hiding when the need suits you, this has been twice now that you have done so. Do you enjoy wasting our time and resources?" Yamamoto continued.

"No sir, I just-"

"Come now, old man, he's been through quite a bit at this point I imagine, and he's even managed to come back from being a Nobody." The pink-coated Captain put a friendly hand on his boss's shoulder as if rank didn't exist, a calm smile on his face. With a discreet glance in Toshiro's direction, he winked.

Toshiro understood immediately. They were using their influence as his seniors to keep him away from the Marines. Demyx must have told them what was up. Glancing beside him he saw Yoruichi sneaking her phone back down into her pockets. She had kept the Nobody on call to make sure they stayed updated on events and knew what they were getting into.

Sneaky cat.

He still worried what may happen when he returned home, but for now, Yamamoto and the others were here to help him.

"It is indeed good news that you have returned to your normal self, Captain Hitsugaya, but the fact remains that you have avoided contact for over a month and brought about quite a bit of trouble for this world that it would otherwise not have needed to deal with. If you had perhaps just returned home, a less costly cure may have been eventually discovered." The Head Captain continued, standing firm. His aged face gave no indication of any hidden plans to his words, but considering he was usually quicker to punish such grave violations as Toshiro had made, it was easy for the Soul Reapers to notice.

"Hold on now, the powers he holds have caught the eyes of our world leaders, and since he used them to cause us trouble as you mentioned, shouldn't we get the right to deal with him as we see fit?" The portly Sentomaru spoke up on behalf of Kizaru, the light user keeping a wary eye on the two old powers.

"I would think the idea of him leaving this world alone would be appealing to you, soldier." Yamamoto's tone was harsh and actually made the Marine flinch back a step. "It seems to me you're pushing to kidnap one of my officers against his will."

"Nothing of the sort." Kizaru countered calmly, but any further comment was cut off by his more local enemies.

"You wanted to bring him to the World Government to work for you!" Penguin spoke up loudly. Normally standing up to an Admiral was a terrible idea, but some bravado had returned to even the weaker pirates with the presence of powerful souls on their side. Anything to keep their friend out of the hands of the Marines.

"Yeah, once you guys found out what he could do, and from a lying witch no less, you suddenly wanted to keep him when before you were happy to hang him with the rest of us!" Nami snapped as well, not about to let them sweet talk their way out. She frankly didn't like Yamamoto after speaking with Toshiro about how they ran things, but if he was helping, she'd put in her two cents, something she didn't do often.

"Who's to say you won't actually just kill him?" Thursday scowled, the twins at her side standing tall as well.

"Looks like you've got no business being here." Yoruichi said with a warning in her tone. "We'll take care of things now."

Kizaru was clearly not about to let it end there. Coming back empty handed and saying the reason was pirates and foreign powers teamed up on him to take the guardian away would be bad for him. What the Celestial Dragons wanted, they got.

Seeing this determination, Yen Sid took it upon himself to deal with things in the only non-violent way still available, since negotiations were out. He waved his hand through the air, a flickering of lights following his movements.

And then, in an almost comedic puff of smoke, the Marines were transported elsewhere.

"It is definitely convenient to have a wizard around." Kyoraku, the pink coated Captain, spoke up with a chuckle.

"I'm simply putting the young upstarts in time out." Yen Sid responded with a light smirk.

"That was cool!" Chopper cheered, many sighs of relief from the pirates following his exclamation.

"Hey can you teach any of us that?" Usopp questioned.

"Afraid not, young pirate, magic is not welcome here." Yen Sid responded with a sympathetic bow. "Though it seems the Keyblade has other ideas."

He looked over to Shanks, the red-head blinking in confusion for a moment at the sudden spotlight before remembering his new weapon. It flashed into his hands.

"You can take it back if you want." He offered.

"I can't take back something that has already chosen you." The wizard responded with a dismissing wave of his hand. "Someday, when this mess with Xehanort is over, I may seek you out once more to help you better understand its power. For now, though, you and the young man I saw with the soldiers that had one will have to be self-taught. I can only assume the Keyblades chose you two for a reason, and with the Heartless now aware of this place, it will be important to stay vigilant."

"Well, being self-taught isn't too hard for a pirate, so no worries here." The Pirate Emperor grinned, confident. "In that case, we best be off. I may be a pirate but I still have plenty of responsibilities to go handle."

"What I wish to know is how these two humans came to hold such a weapon." Yamamoto spoke up, turning his gaze on Toshiro while the red-haired man and his crew turned and took their leave. Luffy wanted to chase and ask some questions, but he had a feeling he should stick around in case Toshiro was in trouble. As they all spoke, Harribel gave a light sigh and moved off far to the side away from the Reapers, ignoring any stares in favor of reverting to her normal form. As her Hollow presence lessened, they all felt a little more at ease, if not sure why. Dextra still kept an eye on her, though not sure what she could do against someone who created water around her.

Tensing, the Toshiro didn't answer Yamamoto at first, thinking quickly about what he could say to avoid too harsh a punishment. It might have been too late, though, as he'd no doubt broken most if not all of Soul Society's laws of secrecy and human involvement.

"But if they have one, that means they were meant to, right?" Sora spoke up first in defense of his friend. The aged Soul Reaper had no reaction, simply listening.

"Considering the two who got one seem to be of opposite ideals and groups, it's safe to say the Keyblades have ensured their own form of balance here while extending aid to this world for future attempts by the Heartless to threaten it." Yen Sid spoke his agreement. This seemed to be enough for Yamamoto who just nodded. Toshiro let out a tiny sigh of relief.

"So, Toshiro's not in trouble?" Thursday dared ask of the powerful Soul Reapers.

"Oh normally he'd be in huge trouble." Kyoraku responded, though his expression was friendly and dismissive. "But considering the stakes, any punishment is being postponed until we figure out what would be outside the rules and what should be allowed."

"Personally, based on what little information we have, I believe he was well within his rights to act as he did, if a bit troubling that he ran." The other Captain, Ukitake, put in his word. "It seemed to be for the best, however, considering he is no longer a Nobody."

"One of the pirates here helped with that." Rangiku responded, motioning over to Law. The surgeon wasn't too happy about being singled out, especially at the curious, eager glances that came his way.

"Would you, perhaps, be capable of repeating such a miracle?" Yen Sid asked, putting a hand on Demyx's shoulder as the Water Nobody stepped forward excitedly.

"Possibly. Is his Heartless nearby?" Law replied, wondering if the stranger's other half could also hide in its master's shadow.

"Oh, uh… no." Demyx's hopeful expression immediately fell. "She was… destroyed a long time ago."

"Destroyed? By who?" Penguin questioned, wondering what happened to a Soul Reaper if they lost they're zanpaktou spirit. Well, he supposed in Demyx's case, they were stuck being a Nobody.

"Xehanort's Nobody, Xemnas. I was his guinea pig to try stuff on before he captured Captain Hitsugaya, and when he couldn't control my Mizukayou, he destroyed her."

"That's awful…" Brook put a hand to his mouth, tone sympathetic.

"Hey, that doesn't mean we should give up." The red-head finally spoke up, putting a friendly arm over the Nobody's shoulder as he tried to cheer the other up. "If she was a Heartless still, there might be a way to get her from Kingdom Hearts."

Toshiro looked up into the sky where the bright shining heart still bathed them in its glow.

"I'm not sure yet if I can do something like that. I don't think I have that kind of control over it." He turned back to the others with an apologetic look. "I don't even know how to make it go away. I wasn't exactly conscious when I was forced to summon it."

"BUT, there's still a chance." The red-head countered firmly.

"There might be, Axel, just not any time soon."

"Call me Lea." With a smirk on his face, the now human pyro watched for reactions.

Toshiro just blinked, confused.

"Oh yeah, I guess we need to catch you up on stuff too." Sora grinned sheepishly at his icy friend. "Lea is back to being human again. Since he's not a Soul Reaper like you and Demyx your research guys found a way to bring him back to normal a little easier."

"I will say it was NOT a pleasant experience." Lea grimaced. "But, it's pretty good to be back."

"In any case, there is much to be discussed, so it's about time we took our leave." Yamamoto interrupted, deciding there had been enough chatter and their continued presence would only bring more unwanted attention.

"We thank you brave pirates for taking care of our comrade." Kyoraku tipped his hat to the two crews with a grin.

"You're leaving now?" Chopper's tone was pouting and downcast, not eager to see their friend depart so soon.

"We can always come back." Sora knelt down to be more at level with the reindeer and patted him on the head. "I'd like to get to know you guys some time, you really helped Toshiro out."

"Sora just really likes pirates." Goofy ratted out his friend with a chuckle.

"So?" The spiky brunette grew defensive.

"These guys are definitely better than Sparrow who tried to sell us out to Davy Jones." Toshiro cut in.

"Well of course, we're the best pirates!" Luffy grinned, looking proud.

"You're not Pirate King yet, I can still easily take that title." Law argued, causing the rubber man to turn his way with cheeks puffed up in challenge.

"I wouldn't say easily." Robin added with a slight giggle. "Who knows, maybe our friend Toshiro would take the title."

"No thanks." Toshiro countered. He had no desire to take some legendary treasure and become king of the pirates.

"Why not, sounds like fun?" Riku teased the smaller figure.

As the Keybearers and friends interacted happily with the pirates, Rangiku watching from the side with a smile and pointedly ignoring a flirting Sanji, Yoruichi returned to the other Soul Reapers.

"He looks a little bit different, doesn't he?" She asked of the men.

"If you mean besides the outfit and armor pieces, yeah a little bit." Kyoraku replied with a small nod.

They peeked behind the purple-haired woman briefly to look at who they were speaking of. Normally, the Hitsugaya Toshiro they knew was distant, observing without fully participating, perhaps getting flustered or angry over something said but very careful not to get too roped in. He was a child that tried too hard to be professional and formal. Considering his station, it was a preferred mindset, those in charge glad he obeyed the rules and traditions.

But there was something about him now that brought on an odd feeling of pride in their old hearts. The pirates were a rowdy group, not quite seeming like murderous and vile pirates and more like rebellious children, but Toshiro seemed to enjoy their company. Where before he'd be angry and cold, he was… laughing. The long nosed one was telling some dramatic tale, and when promptly corrected or embarrassed, their icy Captain was laughing with the others, even joining in as he explained his adventures in the ocean world.

As much as the three Captains felt like fathers or grandfathers watching their lonely child finally grow up, they had to hold that feeling down. After all, even if Toshiro had finally found himself, he still had to face the consequences… as much as they didn't want him to. At the least they would make sure the Central Forty-Six did not punish him harshly. He would hopefully get off with just a slap on the wrist and could continue his work, avoid slinking back into his icy shell.

But when they called him over and once more stated that they were to leave immediately to face the council, they were unprepared for his response.

* * *

 **I know y'all didn't want to wait this long for just a bunch of talking, but such is what happens near the end. NExt few chapters are just moving things into place for the next, so not too much action. Got past my block as well, so hopefully the rest come out a little faster.**


	56. I'm Moving On

"Whoa, you guys have fought off an entire army!?" Sora looked between several of the Straw Hats with childlike wonder.

"Several times!" Chopper responded proudly.

"Seems like every island you guys went to was an adventure." Riku piped up. "Not unlike you Sora."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora turned to his best friend with a pout.

"Take it as a compliment." Toshiro said with a chuckle. "You two would probably get along great with the Straw Hats."

"Are you called that because of his hat?" Sora switched topics upon hearing the name, pointing to the Captain.

"Pretty much." Nami replied with a playful eye roll while Luffy just stood proud.

"And you guys are the Heart Pirates right?" The Keybearer turned to the group in boiler suits. "Why that name?"

"Because Captain is a doctor." Penguin responded.

"And his specialty is removing hearts." Shachi added on.

"O-oh…" Sora looked less inclined to mingle with them than the colorful Straw Hats. Law didn't bother correcting his crew on the meaning behind the name, he preferred this answer to intimidate others and frankly he didn't want another Luffy trying to be friends with him. Sora didn't seem quite as crazy, but no point trying to be friendly.

"Why do you have kids then?" Donald asked, looking between the four children – Daniel and the other crew members who had stayed behind had joined them after they had seen Hyorinmaru in his true form. "Wouldn't a pirate crew be unsafe for them?"

While some took a moment to try and figure out what was said, not familiar with Donald's quacking tone, Bepo was first to respond.

"Captain adopted them years ago from a super mean lady who made them steal things." The polar bear explained. "They're very good pirates."

"And Papa protects us from other, worse pirates!" Daniel added in while getting Bepo to lift him up onto his furry shoulders.

"He seems mean but Law protects those kids like any good daddy." Nami whispered to Sora, Donald and Goofy, Riku listening just a foot away.

Law scowled at her, not appreciating the soft touch they'd shoved onto his first impression.

"Well, he saved Toshiro too, so thanks!" Stepping up to the spot-wearing pirate, Sora held a friendly hand out to shake.

Law left it hanging.

So, Dextra took it instead.

"He helped us a lot too." The eagle child said with a smile. "Those Heartless would have caused a lot of trouble before we figured out how to beat them."

"Oi, is anybody listening?" Usopp's exasperated tone caught their attention. "I was just getting to how I defeated the most terrifying ghost on the ship full of zombies!"

"If I recall you beat her because her power was negativity and you were already the most negative person there." Toshiro smirked as he said this. The playful attitude was a bit unfamiliar to Sora and the others, but they welcomed it with snickers of their own as Usopp reeled back.

"Why does your memory have to be so good?" The sniper grumbled quickly.

"Nothing gets past the genius." Demyx patted Usopp's shoulder almost in sympathy, but was clearly trying not to laugh.

"I still haven't forgotten the time you and Rangiku showed up to training with hangovers so bad you had to crawl your way across the halls, sunglasses in front of your eyes and earmuffs over your ears still complaining it was too loud."

The Nobody laughed nervously and retreated away briefly, whereas Rangiku just coughed and smiled and pretended she didn't hear anything.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro."

The elderly voice brought their banter to a halt, all attention turning back to Yamamoto as the Head Captain stepped forward towards the person he had called.

"There is no time for wasting with idle chatter, we must bring you before the Central Forty-Six." Though firm as a leader's should be, Yamamoto's tone was calm and not at all hostile. He still fully believed rules must be followed, but a great many things had made him more lenient, and the more Toshiro discovered of his Heavenly Guardian history, the less the Soul Society could hope to actually hold over him.

So in a way, he half expected Toshiro's response, even if the others didn't.

"I don't think I will go back… sir." Force of habit made him add on the honorific, but Toshiro still made it clear he wasn't budging.

"Hitsugaya?" Ukitake looked quite startled. The pirates, Keybearers and friends also looked at the white-haired figure oddly.

"I know it doesn't forgive me of all the rules I've broken, but there's a lot I've learned here and even more questions I have on top of those still only half-answered. And Xehanort is still planning something, still after Kingdom Hearts. I don't think I should be hiding back in an office in the Soul Society."

"Wait, Captain, you're not saying that you're-" Looking a bit distressed, Rangiku's question was cut off as her Captain cut right to the point.

"I'm stepping down from my position as Squad Ten Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

Multiple surprised gasps went up around him.

"But-!" Rangiku was definitely about to argue, and knowing this Toshiro cut her off again to explain his reasoning, a sympathetic expression on his face that didn't really make her feel any better.

"I know it seems bad, and it's as sudden for me as it is you… but I really do feel like I'll get more answers going with Sora and the others. I can't just sit around anymore knowing Xehanort is still in the shadows plotting, and I can't just end my search for answers about myself now after coming this far. But I know I'm going to just keep breaking Soul Society rules, just as I know I've already broken almost all of them already… so it's better if I just never go back."

"You're suggesting self-exile?" Yamamoto questioned, curious, and perhaps gaining a tiny bit of respect for the young soul's resolve and ambition.

"Well, I would like to go back eventually…" Toshiro responded a bit quietly. "I do still have many friends there… but I need to find the answers. I can't do that with the Central Forty-Six hovering over me."

"Hmm." Stroking his beard, the Head Captain thought long and hard about what new consequences such an action might lead to. Toshiro was essentially exiling himself from his own home… but it was more of a pilgrimage than an exile, a journey the Captain may be on for an indeterminate amount of time. That was why he wanted to step down; he never knew when he might return once he found the answers he needed… or if he even would.

"I accept your resignation, Hitsugaya Toshiro… as for how we deal with your actions from here on out, that is yet to be decided." The firm tone of a boss softened briefly as the old man leaned slightly closer, adopting a more fatherly expression. "However, I will see if there's a way for the Central Forty-Six to ignore this in favor of continuing to aid the Keybearers in their fight to stop the darkness."

"That would be much appreciated." Immensely relieved, Toshiro couldn't help a sigh and a light smile.

"Awesome! You're going to keep traveling with us!" Ever the excited one to know friends were sticking around, Sora looked ready to jump into another group hug, Donald and Goofy grinning happily as well and cheering.

"I'll definitely do my best to help you from home, Captain." Rangiku promised, a little more at ease knowing the Head Captain didn't want to see Toshiro punished either.

"You can call me by name now, Rangiku." Toshiro reminded her.

"Oh, force of habit is all." The Lieutenant giggled. "I'm just glad to see you've opened up to others."

"It's not an easy thing to do for sure."

"In that case, young Hitsugaya, I would like you to return to my tower with Sora and Riku, there is much the three of you must learn before we face Xehanort once more." Yen Sid was the one to speak up this time, stepping forward.

"Oh yeah, some kind of special training." Sora remembered the conversation about such a thing before they started their search for their missing friend.

"With the Keyblade I assume?" Toshiro asked of the wizard.

"Indeed. Your experience with the Keyblade is brand new, and so far Sora and Riku have only taught themselves their current skills, which while impressive is still lacking. There is much to know about the Keyblade beyond fighting with it, and not much time to learn."

"We'll do our best!" Sora gave a brief salute, excited to learn new skills. His two Keybearer companions nodded their agreement, showing they would do their best as well under Yen Sid's guidance.

"I guess that means you are leaving?" Dextra's voice caught Toshiro's attention.

He turned back to her and the other Heart Pirates. Glancing between them all, he did feel a pang in his gut about leaving them all behind. It had been a long few weeks of traveling with them and their allies, and while most of it had been fraught with danger and manipulation, he'd grown somewhat attached to the pirates. The children especially had welcomed him with open arms, sharing a kinship through dreadful pasts and hardships not meant for ones their age. Dextra especially had kept an eye out for him, ever helpful even when it put herself in danger, a loyal sibling and friend to any in her family. Her own story had been just as dark as his, but she still stuck a hand out to him to help him back to the light.

Reaching up he removed the snowflake pendant from around his neck and walked over to the Eagle Fruit user.

"Here, hold onto this if you ever need help, I'll come as fast as I can." He said while holding out the pendant to her.

She looked at it for a moment. The dark blue color she'd gotten used to seeing it in as the safe color was now a brilliant sparkling blue, like the sky on a perfect sunny day, almost glowing as if it held within it a sun of its own. It was not a familiar color, but it was a friendly one, and more comforting than the dark blue of a sea too deep to see in.

"I thought this just helped us know when you were losing control of the darkness?" She asked, still taking the offering but not sure how this would let him know when she needed help.

"Well, I don't need it for that anymore, and it's still connected to me. You've been a great help, so I want you to have it."

Beaming, Dextra quickly put the pendant over her head to rest around her neck, wearing it proudly.

"We'll miss you kid." Jean Bart waved to the much smaller figure.

"I'm still older than all of you." The soul pouted.

"But you're still a kid." Shachi snickered, reaching over to ruffle Toshiro's hair.

"I will ice that."

The engineer pulled his hand away, not risking it.

"Glad to see some things haven't changed." Law smirked. "You've given me some new skill sets to practice with, so I'm grateful to have met you."

"While I don't like the sound of that I'm glad that skill set was used to bring me back to normal, so thank you." Toshiro responded, bowing his head slightly.

"Hey Toshiro, you better come see us too if you come back!" Nami called over from where she stood with her crew, smiling.

"And bring your lovely officer with you~." Sanji added, hearts in his eyes as he twirled over to Rangiku.

"She's not MY officer anymore, so that's up to her." Toshiro deadpanned, wondering if his former Lieutenant was going to beat the poor cook to death. She held her figure confidently, but she was ready and willing to put perverts in their place.

"It might be fun." Rangiku said with a smile while choosing to just shove the blonde away. Sanji didn't return, content to lay on the ground babbling about something romantic that everyone just ignored.

"You just don't want to do paperwork."

The strawberry-blonde didn't answer, smiling innocently while picking up her former boss in a hug – Sanji began to seethe but didn't approach. She was happy to have him back, to know he was safe, if only for the moment.

"Well then, Demyx, if you would be so kind as to assist us back home." Yamamoto spoke above the rising chaos of voices that were the pirates. "I have a meeting to attend."

"Yes sir." Demyx saluted at first, as he'd become accustomed to it, before switching quickly to a bow. It would take some time before he got used to regular Soul Society customs again, and he'd never learned much of them anyway being a bit of a slacker.

Nervously moving on from the mix up, Demyx created a portal of darkness with a flick of his wrist.

"Whoa, where does that go?" Ever curious, Luffy looked ready to launch right inside but stopped just before the swirling black tendrils.

"Through the Realm of Darkness and I assume back to Soul Society, so if you don't want to get trapped in either I suggest you stay put young man." Kyoraku chuckled at the vibrant curiosity of the human. "It'd be a shame if you ended up dying because you went to the land of the dead before your time, best you stick with your crew. They need you."

"Ah, before I go, I was saving this for Yachiru but seeing as there's children I don't mind lending it out." With the smile of a kindly uncle, Ukitake pulled several varieties of candy packs from his uniform and held them out to the Heart Pirate children. Law was the only one who gave the stash disapproving looks, but his children were quick for grabs, trusting the white-haired man. "You too, Hitsugaya."

"I don't like candy." Toshiro felt like he'd said this over a hundred times, and as expected the senior Soul Reaper didn't listen, handing over a few packs anyway. Feeling proud that he put smiles on children's faces, Ukitake walked away confidently and through the portal with Kyoraku, Yoruichi and Harribel, Yamamoto leading the way. "Every time…"

"I'm going to guess he always does that?" Penguin asked of the remaining Reaper.

"He's very fond of children, would never dream of causing them any harm, and always has snacks for them. He gives me a lot because we're both 'Shiro' or something… his name is Ukitake Jushiro, and we both have white hair. I usually end up just giving it to the Squad Eleven Lieutenant, Kusajishi Yachiru, who is an actual child and devours pretty much anything sweet."

"I'll take it this time!" Chopper volunteered and Toshiro didn't hesitate to hand it over, the reindeer-human elated to have them.

"At least I can trust they're not poisoned." Though still looking grumpy about it as the crew doctor, Law didn't say they couldn't. Plus, the four of them had already started munching away, so it was a bit too late for that. Daniel shared some of his with Bepo, the polar bear Mink happy as could be. Some of his crew looked at him jealously. The foreign candy was apparently pretty good.

"I'm going to go back to the Soul Society, I assume you guys are heading off by ship?" Demyx called over, reminding them once more that it was time to leave, his portal still open.

"Yup!" Goofy responded with a thumbs up, the Gummi ship descending back down to the island as they spoke.

Once he had that answer, Demyx hurried through the portal and the tendrils faded away, leaving no sign of it, not even disturbing the snow upon the ground.

"A real life space ship, this is the SUPER ship of my dreams!" Franky admired the vehicle with manly tears in his eyes as the colorful Gummi Ship settled in the snow, ready for its passengers.

"Wait until you hear what it runs on." Lea spoke up.

"What does it run on?" Usopp asked.

"Happy faces!" Sora responded, putting on his biggest smile.

"…You're joking." Shachi deadpanned.

"Sadly no." Toshiro countered with a shake of his head. "It really does run on positive emotions."

"That's a pretty good idea, I've got the Thousand Sunny running pretty well on cola!" Franky was the only one unfazed by the fuel of choice for a space ship.

"Really?" Donald looked baffled by what the pirates used for fuel, which seemed silly considering what their ship ran on.

"It was quite pleasant meeting all of you, but I'm afraid I must insist we take our leave. Good luck to all of you in your adventures." Yen Sid spoke as he approached the ship, planning to just travel with them back to his home world.

"Oh, I guess that's our cue. Nice to meet all of you." Waving to them along with his animal companions, Sora headed for the ship as well, Riku just giving a small wave and boarding behind them. Lea hurried on, leaving only Toshiro standing in the snow with the pirates.

"Hopefully you're allowed to come visit, we'd love to have you sail with us again." Robin said her goodbyes with a smile, glad their new friend had found his own crew, finally breaking free from his own chains and finding himself.

"In fact, you better come see us!" Book shouted from the Heart Pirate crew playfully.

"I don't want to make a promise I can't keep, but… I promise to try my best to come back." Toshiro replied to both crews, his expression happy and full of life, something they never got to see before. His heart returned, he was a whole new person, and with the darkness no longer plaguing his mind they all agreed it was for the better. They definitely wanted a chance to travel with him and get to know the real version of himself. "Worst case, look for one of these."

Lifting a hand up they saw a black butterfly alight on his finger.

"Now that I'm back to normal, I can use the Hell Butterflies again. They're our messengers, so hopefully I can keep in touch." He smiled, letting the butterfly take flight and vanish.

"Tell us all about the adventures you have!" Luffy called out with a grin, waving as the tiny soul turned away towards the ship.

Toshiro just waved back before his figure vanished into the Gummi Ship and the vehicle began to lift up into the air. The pirates watched it take off into the sky until it was nothing but a light shooting across the stars, twinkling out of sight. With his leave, the bright azure heart in the sky vanished back into the clouds, its presence vanishing back to wherever it hid when not summoned.

"Well… back to our own adventures then?" Brook asked his crew. Agreeing the two groups headed back to shore to their own ships. They would never forget their magical friend, and they wished him the best of luck in defeating his enemies.

As the Gummi ship made its way through space to the magical tower that belonged to Yen Sid, the screen lit up with Yamamoto and Yoruichi on screen.

"Before you are roped into your new training regime, Hitsugaya Toshiro, there's something interesting that Shihoin Yoruichi has just reported to me." The aging reaper spoke. With a confused tilt of his head, Toshiro listened. "She says that Aizen no longer has the Hogyoku. Is this true?"

"He-what?" Toshiro's startled response told Yamamoto that the other had no knowledge of such a thing.

"Thought so, you were already captured when we got there, and he'd already lost it when Harribel and I went to fight him, I was hoping maybe you saw it happen." Yoruichi mused aloud.

"No, I didn't, when they put the collar on again he was fine, and I thought I had killed everyone… it happened after I was summoning Kingdom Hearts and before everyone showed up. It must have been Trafalgar Law."

"The man that returned you to normal?" Yamamoto questioned, curious.

"He said there was a possibility he could do it, his skillset allows him to manipulate anything within the body within a Room he puts up, and in his efforts to fix Hyorinmaru and I he learned how to manipulate the spiritual level as well. I wasn't sure he could get close enough… but he must have set things up just right, kept the element of surprise long enough to get around Aizen and remove the Hogyoku."

"We didn't sense it anywhere when we arrived though, would the pirates have hidden it somewhere?" Yoruichi asked.

"I… I'm not sure, I didn't sense it either when I regained conscious." Toshiro wondered. "Perhaps… it was destroyed?"

"No way." The were-cat frowned, not thinking such a thing could be possible.

"That world had a great many powers that could rival our own, someone there might have been able to do what we never could once Trafalgar removed it from its host."

"Then we will look into such a thing, as well as search for where Aizen took off to." Yamamoto promised. "Now that you are no longer part of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, you should focus on finding your answers and training as a Keybearer. We will deal with these matters as our responsibility."

"But if he's working with Xehanort to get Toshiro, he's still our problem too, right?" Sora spoke up with a frown.

"Indeed, but he should not be your main concern. Leave such things to us."

"I agree with the Head Captain; I need you three to focus on your training." Yen Sid raised his voice into the conversation, looking between the trio that held Keyblades. "If he appears, we will deal with it, but until then, leave it to the Soul Society."

"That's fine with me, I'll be happy to never see his face again." Toshiro responded with a scowl. Hogyoku or not, the man had caused enough damage that the icy swordsman just wanted to avoid dealing with Aizen ever again. Revenge was not a motivator for him, he simply wanted to figure out who he was and get stronger, so that no one else could hurt him or his close friends again. "Besides, we have a lot to catch up on."

Conversation over, the video went dark as the signal disconnected, and Sora happily shared their adventures searching through the stars for him, including how they managed to bring Lea back to his human self, an odd enemy of sentient armor that almost killed them, yet they found themselves growing stronger against, and what they had learned so far about the Keyblade War. Toshiro had more information for them there, sharing what he had learned from the fragments of memory he found in the Grand Line about his past self, as well as the tidbits he'd gotten from Maleficent and Xehanort about what may come to pass and what the Heartless became capable of on the various islands. The Heartless that created the Stigma, forever stuck with the name Bugshroom, was quite a frightening tale for them, even Yen Sid didn't think the creatures were capable of such intelligence and horrible plagues. They were intrigued about the special music box Toshiro told them about as well, along with its connection to the past, and were sad to hear it was destroyed by Maleficent, further distraught by the pain their friend had to go through as the dark fairy tortured him with nightmares.

But that was all over now, and Toshiro expressed his gratitude for being able to travel with them again, whole and normal again, and on track to finding out what it meant to be a Heavenly Guardian. Perhaps through their training they would learn more.

They could only hope they got strong enough to defeat Xehanort, excitement in their chests as the Mysterious Tower that was Yen Sid's home came into view.

The training would soon begin.

* * *

 **And that ends the tale of the Grand Line. Toshiro has returned to normal and gained new purpose, no longer limiting himself to play the role of a Captain and follow rules that shunned who he was, he welcomes his friends with open arms.**

 **I know KH3 is coming out soon, but naturally the next thing to do is Dream Drop Distance, and perhaps I might figure out how to add Aqua's story from the prologue into it, though I guess they don't really interact with her, Mickey just tells Riku the story, right? I never actually played it, could only watch videos. Whatever the case, i'll need to sit down with the lore currently available to me and maybe replay Dream Drop Distance (or probably just watch videos for easier info gathering) to figure out where Toshiro is going next, and with KH3 almost out, I should be able to get more lore to piece things together as I write. It may be a while, research always takes time, but I hope this journey through One Piece as Toshiro rediscovers himself was enjoyable. There is no planned epilogue, but once I figure out my goal for the next installment I may add one as a sort of teaser. Thank you all so much for sticking around.**


	57. Advice?

As things move on into Dream Drop Distance, there are some things I want to work out from the start before I even set to writing, and I thought perhaps those of you who have stuck through my series so far might be able to help me with it.

The biggest roadblock i'm hitting is HOW to write it. As i'm sure anyone who's played it knows, the game basically splits itself in two stories: Sora and Riku. You switch back and forth between them. With Toshiro added, that would be three stories in one i'd have to write. The challenge seems fun, but i'm curious if readers want to just have Toshiro's version and not bother dealing with Sora and Riku's stories unless they involved a change due to Toshiro's presence, or if I should still include their side along with Toshiro's own. And if I go with doing all three, should I do each of their segments in each world (meaning there would be three chapters, one for each character, per one world and the chapters would be very long) or should I stick to chapters as I do them and simply put line breaks between the three of them to show shift in perspective. It's quite the interesting challenge for me and I wondered what people might prefer to read.

 **I think I've figure out this one for the most part. Someone pointed out the plot point of how Riku essentially becomes a sort of Dream Eater for Sora in an unconscious effort to protect him while Xehanort drags Sora into darkness to become a vessel. In that vein, it would make more sense for Toshiro to just be put into Riku's storyline, which would let the two of them start bonding and would let me keep to a set path that I can change as needed, which will definitely happen. As for structure, I think I'm still going to have Sora's storyline just for those who want the full POV and I will just highlight any parts that are changed dramatically for those who just want to skim it for what's new, and then have Riku and Toshiro's path in it's own full chapter. The reason I want Sora's part in still is not just because I had a few people ask but because it will help me make sure the stories are crossing over properly and I can include new changes without it being weird little snippets in between the main parts. I have a bad habit of forgetting what I'm doing and making things up as I go so I need to make sure I'm consistent, at least a little bit. For those who just want Toshiro's POV, like I said, I'll put in some kind of noticeable marker for what's an important change so you can gloss over the story that's already known, I just had a few people ask for Sora's path as a refresher to the game since it's been out for a long time.**

My other curiosity is what to give Toshiro as his beginning spirit. Sora gets the hamster and Riku gets the bat, and while I know all of you are as tempted as I am to give him the dragon, the dragon spirit is one of the higher level ones that you get late game, so it feels unfair. I'd rather him start out with a low level one just like Riku and Sora.

 **I have made little Dream Eater teams for all three of them much like one would make a pokemon team, lol, so this part is covered, I took everyone's suggestions into account and did my own research as well. No spoilers though! You'll see them in the story, nicknames and all! Though I'm sure my search history of Japanese baby names might look weird to my parents haha.**

For those who don't know, I have a poll up regarding the Pirates of the Caribbean world in KH3 since I put the cart before the horse a bit and did the Davy Jones story in my version before it actually happens in game. As of February 2020 the lead vote is for me to go back and rewrite my version to keep Davy Jones for KH3 but that's way more tedious work than just replacing the KH3 version lol that I haven't written yet lol. Go put in a vote if you have a preference.

I may add more questions when I actually get to writing, but for now these two are the most important to deal with before I even open a new document, and i'm always happy to hear ideas.


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